THE 


NEW   AGE    OE   GOLD; 


l&iiz 


OP 


KOBE11T  DEXTER  ROMAINE. 


WRITTEN  BY  HIMSELF. 


Would  that  the  desrrt  were  my  dwelling-place  ! 

Witli  one  fair  spirit  for  my  minister  ; 

That  I  might  all  forget  the  human  race, 

And,  hating  no  one,  love  but  only  her !  BYRON. 


BOSTON: 
PHILLIPS,  SAMPSON   AND   COMPANY 

13     WINTER    STREET. 

1850. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1856,  by 
PHILLIPS,  SAMPSON  AND   COMPANY, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


•  •    -       .   HUtfAK/i.1   ,*    0,'jL.uina, 

*  ffew  Ei'gla'nd  Typo  and  Stereotype  Foundery, 


0,  LOVE  !  in  such  a  wilderness  as  this, 

Where  transport  and  security  entwine, 
Here  is  the  empire  of  thy  perfect  bliss, 

And  here  thou  art  a  god  indeed  divine. 
Here  shall  no  forms  abridge,  no  hours  confine 

The  views,  the  walks,  that  boundless  joy  inspire  ! 
Roll  on,  ye  days  of  raptured  influence,  shine  ! 
Nor,  blind  with  ecstasy's  celestial  fire, 
Shall  love  behold  the  spark  of  earth-born  time  expire. 

CAMPBELL. 

On,  had  we  some  bright  little  isle  of  our  own, 
In  a  blue  summer  ocean,  far  off  and  alone  ; 
Where  a  leaf  never  dies  in  the  still  blooming  bowers, 
And  the  bee  banquets  on  through  a  whole  year  of  flowers  ; 
Where  the  sun  loves  to  pause, 

With  so  fond  a  delay, 
That  the  night  only  draws 

A  thin  veil  o'er  the  day  ; 

Whore  simply  to  feel  that  wo  breathe,  that  we  live, 
Is  worth  the  best  joy  that  life  elsewhere  can  give  ; 
Where,  with  souls  ever  ardent  and  pure  as  the  clime, 
We  should  love  as  they  loved  in  the  first  golden  time  ; 
The  glow  of  the  sunshine,  the  balm  of  the  air, 
Should  steal  to  our  hearts,  and  make  all  summer  there. 
With  affection  as  free 

From  decline  as  the  flowers, 
And  with  hope  like  the  bee, 
Living  always  on  flowers  ; 
Our  life  should  resemble  a  long  day  of  light, 
And  our  death  come  on  holy  and  calm  as  the  night. 

MOORE. 


M105417 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Introductory. — My  Birth-Place. — House  in  Boston.  —  Brief  Notice  of 
my  Father  and  Mother. — Early  Aspirations. —  My  First  Hero.  —  I 
am  sent  to  College.  —  Sudden  Change  in  my  Fortunes. — The  Battle 
of  Life. — Unsuccessful  Attempts  to  get  into  Business. — Keeping 
School.  —  Further  Disappointments.  —  The  Wharf  at  Salein.  —  Gloomy 
Reveries. —  A  Desperate  Resolution, 13 

CHAPTER    II. 

Going  to  Sea.  —  My  first  Appearance  as  a  Sailor.  —  Meeting  with  Captain 
Bridges.  —  Selling  my  Watch.  —  The  Three  Sisters.  —  Superstitious  Be 
lief. —  Captain  Bridges.  —  Miseries  of  my  Situation.  —  More  Aspira 
tions. —  Our  three  Passengers.  —  Mr.  Cremorne.  —  The  Bear.  —  First 
Sight  of  Alice.  —  Scraping  an  Acquaintance.  — Castles  in  the  Air,  .  25 

CHAPTER    III. 

We  double  Cape  Horn,  and  arrive  safely  at  Callao. —  We  again  set  sail  for 
India.  —  Smiles  and  Tears.  — The  Exordium.  — Strange  Conduct  of  the 
Bear.— Its  Explanation. — The  Storm. —  The  Ship  springs  a  Leak. —  Loss 
of  the  Masts.  —The  Men  take  to  the  Boat.  —  The  unhappy  Fate  of  Mr. 
Cremorne.  —  I  am  left  alone.  —  My  Reflections. — My  joyful  Surprise. — 
We  take  Refuge  in  the  Yawl.  — The  Ship  sinks, 37 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Voyage  in  the  Boat. — Narrow  Escape  of  the  Bear.  —  My  Perplexity  on 
his  Account. —  I  determine  to  steer  towards  the  North-west. —  My  Feel 
ings  in  regard  to  Alice.  —  State  of  our  Provisions.  —  Philosophizing. — 
I* 


VI  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

Our  first  Breakfast.  —  Making  a  Cup.  —Horrors  of  our  Situation.— 
Alice's  Fortitude. — Our  Quarrel  and  Reconciliation.  —  I  tell  her  my 
gtury. — Sweet  and  bitter  Recollections, 4=9 

CHAPTER    V. 

Voyage  in  the  Boat  continued.  —  Alice  tells  her  Story.  —  Character  of 
her  Grandfather.  —  Our  Sufferings  from  Thirst.  —  "Water  exhausted.  — 
We  see  a  Ship.  —  Flying-fish.  —  Strange  Behavior  of  the  Bear.  —  1 
steer  towards  the  South-west.  —  Lund  in  Sight.  —  Difficulty  of  Land 
ing.  —  A  desperate  Expedient. —  Tame  Birds. —The  subterranean 
Passage, tG 

CHAPTER    VI. 

The  Island.  —  The  Fairy  Lake.  —  Its  Solitude.  —  Search  for  Water.  — 
Sagacity  of  the  Bear.  —  The  Plateau.  —  Delicious  Scenery.  —  The 
Fountain.  —  The  first  Night,  and  its  Fancies.  —  Morning.  —  An 
Alarm.  —  Its  Nature.  —  Gigantic  Gourds.  —  Naming  the  Bear.  —  The 
Ramble.  —  Adam  and  Eve. — The  Banian  Tree.  —  Inconveniences  of 
Savage  Life.  —  Banks  of  the  Brook.  —  Return  Home.  —  Sunset. — 
The  second  Night.  —  Forming  Plans, 76 

CHAPTER    VII. 

A  short  W ay  of  building  a  House.  —  Alice's  Delight.  —  The  Bear's  In- 
ditfurcnce. — Our  Almanac.  —  My  extravagant  Behavior.  —  An  Even 
ing  Stroll.  —  The  Seashore.  —  Solitude.  —  A  Surprise.  —  Brevity  Bill. 
My  Vexation.  —  A  happy  Thought.  —  An  Argument.  —  Alice  Singing. 
—  The  Advantages  of  being  Fat, % 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

Going  to  sleep. — An  unwelcome  Visitor.  —  Unexpected  Deliverance. — 
Fight  between  Hamlet  and  the  Panther.  —  Second  Visit  to  Brevity 
I3U1.  —  His  Alarm.  —  Its  Explanation. — Fate  of  the  Captain  and 
Crew.  —  His  Anxiety  to  know  what  became  of  Alice.  —My  Injustice 
towards  Him.  —  My  Excuse. — We  return  Home, 108 

CHAPTER    IX. 

Making  a  Fire;  Difficulties  in  the  Way.  — Man's  Dependence  on  his  Fel 
lows.  —  Blessings  of  Independence.  —  My  unsuccessful  Attempts.  — 
Bows  and  Arrows.  —  Brevity  Bill  j  his  growing  Discontent.  —  My  Anx- 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  VH 

ioty  on  his  Account.  —  Episodical.  —  Hamlet;  his  Character.  —  We  set 
out  to  explore  the  Interior  of  the  Island.  —  Female  Costume;  its  Incon 
veniences. —  Want  of  Clothing;  how  to  supply  it, 118 

CHAPTER    X. 

Journey  continued.  —  Halt  on  the  Banks  of  the  River.  —  Tropical  Scen 
ery.  —  Oranges.  —  Sailing  Boats.  —  Reflections.  —  Sleeping.  —  Wak 
ing. —  Mysterious  Disappearance  of  Alice.  —  My  Horror  and  Alarm. 

—  The  Pursuit.  — The  Black.  — The  Death  Struggle.  — 11  am  let  CH.IIK  ,- 
to  the  Rescue.  —  Night   in  the  Woods.  —  Horrors  of  our  Situation. — 
I  determine  to  leave  the  Island. — Morning.  —  Strange  Discovery. — 
The  Pongo.  — My  Relief.  —  We  renew  our  Journey.  — Hamlet's  Deci 
sion,      ];50 

CHAPTER    XI. 

Journey  continued.  —  Cocoanuts.  —  Climbing  the  Palm.  —  March  along 
the  River.  —  Hamlet's  Nonchalance.  —  The  Gum-tree. — An  involun 
tary  Confession.  —  Pleasant  Episode  with  the  Bear.  —  A  wonderful 
Medicine.  —  Toilsome  March.  —  The  Lake  of  the  Woods.  —  A  strange 
Boat. — My  Conjectures  concerning  it. — Pirates. —Going  Home. — 
Shall  we  go,  or  stay  ?  —  Miseries  of  Social  Lite.  —  A  fair  Exchange  no 
Robbery. — A  Surprise.  —  The  Crocodile. — Home  again.  —  An  Even 
ing's  Conversation.  — Thoughts  on  Death.  —  A  Question  in  Ethics,  144 

CHAPTER   XII. 

Visit  to  Brevity  Bill.  —  Hamlet's  Devotion  and  Sagacity. — The  Forest. 

—  Brevity  Bill's  Delight  on  seeing  Us.  —  I  begin  to  pity  Him.  — Mal 
ice  of  Fortune.  —  His  Letter.  —  Alice  intercedes  for  Him.  —  Our  Argu 
ment.  —  We  return  Home.  —  Sunday  Employments.  —  Our  Conversa 
tion. —  More  Thoughts   on  Death. — Alice's  Character  and  Mine. — 
What  is  Love?  —  Hamlet's  Melancholy.  —  My  Jealousy  on  hearing  hi.; 
Praises  sung  by  Alice, 1G4 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

Days  of  the  Week.  —  What  had  we  to  do  with  them  ?  —  Preparations  for 
a  Voyage  up  the  River. —  I  determine  towage  War  against  the  Alliga 
tor. —  His  insulting  Behavior. — The  Battle. — Its  mortifying  Result. 

—  Hamlet's  Indignation.  — I  am  compelled  to  postpone  my  Vengeance 
to  another  Time, 175 


VIII  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

We  commence  our  Voyage.  —  Going  on  Board. — River  Scenery.  —  Its 
Beauty  and  Variety.  —  Volcanic  Rocks.  — The  Rapids.  — The  Great 
Bend. —The  Orange  Grove. —Making  a  Garland. —The  Almighty 
Dollar. —  What  it  could  buy. —  Night  in  the  Tropics.  —  Gathering 
Oranges.  —  Climbing  the  Palin.  —  Twilight  Hours, 181 

CHAPTER    XV. 

Sunday  Morning.  —  Brevity  Bill.  — New  Amusement. —  Singing-Turtle. 

—  A  Lesson  in  Dancing.  —  A  good  Preacher.  —  Brevity  Bill's  Letter. 

—  My  Suspicions  as  to  its  Contents.  —  Contradictory  Peelings  it  ex 
cited. —  Alice  sends  an    Answer.  —  An   amusing  Spectacle. — Brevity 
Bill's  astonishing  Self-control.  —  His   sudden  and   overwhelming  De 
jection. —  Return  Home,          189 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

Home  Life.  —  Its  Quiet  and  Monotony.  —  Happiness  it  gave  me.  —  Want 
of  a  Fire.  —  Want  of  Clothes.  —  Sharpshooting.  —  A  second  Voyage 
up  the  River.  —  The  haunted  Forest.  —  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  and  sur 
rounding  Scenery.  —  My  first  Antelope.  —  My  first  Tiger.  —  A  des 
perate  Battle.  —  Mountain  Gorge.  —  Inland  Navigation.  —  Pride  of 
Empire, 196 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

Second  Day  at  the  Falls.  —  A  Disappointment.  —  Do  Antelopes  drink  on 
Thursdays  ?  —  The  Gourd  Tree.  —  Basket-Willow.  —  Shoemaking.  — 
Down  the  River.  —  Antelope  Shooting. — The  Doe  and  her  Young. — 
I  become  very  unpopular. — Political  Economy, 212 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

Return  Home.  —  Gathering  Oranges.  —  Hamlet's  Adventure  with  the  Mon 
keys.  —  His  Shame,  and  my  Satisfaction.  —  A  good  Memory  for  a  Bear. 

—  An  assorted  Cargo.  —  Difficult  Navigation.  —  Holding  the  Lantern.  — 
The  Doe  and  her  Young.  —  Hamlet's  Jealousy.  —  I  preach  him  a  Ser 
mon. —  Its  good  Effects, 219 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

More  at  Home.  —  More  about  Shoemaking.  —  My  Skill  as  a  Tailor.  —  A 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  IX 

charming  Fit.  —  Making  Baskets.  —  Cups  and  Dishes.  — A  new  House. 

—  Increasing  Wealth.  — High  Notions.  —  Chairs  and  Tables.  —  A  royal 
Entertainment.  —  Brevity  Bill.  —  I  determine  to  release  Him,  .   .225 

CHAPTER    XX. 

Procrastination  and  its  Consequences.  —  Alice  and  I  descend  the  Cliff.  — 
I  see  nothing  of  Brevity  Bill.  —  What  I  thought  about  it.  —  Painful 
Discovery.  —  Narrow  Escape.  —  Brevity  Bill's  last  Hours.  —  His  Mag 
nanimity. —  My  Remorse. —  His  Death  and  Burial, 232 

CHAPTER   XXI. 

An  awkward  Situation.  —  Poetical  Justice.  —  Description  of  my  Prison.  — 
My  unsuccessful  Attempt  to  escape.  —  Night  on  the  Shore.  —  A  guilty 
Conscience. —  A  fearful  Visitor. —  The  second  Day.  —  Strange  Discovery. 

—  The  second  Night.  —  I  resolve  to  explore  the  Cavern.  —  Subterranean 
Lake.  — The  Skull. —  My  Method  of  Reasoning.  —I  cross  the  River, 
and  lose  my  Way, 239 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

Lost  in  the  Cavern.  — The  dead  Huntsman. —My  Meditations. —How 
They  were  interrupted. — The  Pair  of  Eyes.  —  Whose  are  They? — I 
make  up  my  Mind  to  be  eaten  by  a  Tiger. — I  am  agreeably  Disap 
pointed.  —  My  miraculous  Escape.  —  Hamlet's  Sagacity  and  Affection. 

—  Inconveniences  resulting  from  the  Death  of  Brevity  Bill,    .    .    .  247 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

Home  Life.  — Hamlet  and  his  foster-Children.  —  I  am  again  moved  with 
the  Spirit  of  Adventure.  — I  resolve  to  visit  the  Volcano.  —  Ascending 
the  Mountain.  —  Camping  at  Night.  —  Natural  Arch.  —  Sudden  Alarm. 

—  An  unseasonable  Visit.  —  Coming  to  Supper.  —  Going  away  without 
It. — Total  Discomfiture  of  the  Hyenas, 256 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 

Ascending  the  Mountain.  — I  am  obliged  to  reason  with  Hamlet.  —  The 
Summit.  —  Descent  into  the  Crater.  — Hamlet's  Agility.  —  Our  Quar 
rel;  his  Magnanimity.  — Night  in  the  Crater.  —  My  fearful  Dream.  — 
Its  still  more  fearful  Fulfilment.  —  The  Eruption.  —  Our  hasty  Flight. 

—  Our    narrow    Escape.  —  Hamlet    saves    our    Lives    for    the    fifth 
Time, .265 


X  TABLE   OF    CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XXV. 

Continuance  of  the  Eruption.  —My  Manner  of  Accounting  for  this  Phe 
nomenon.  —  A  Fire.  —  Our  exceeding  Delight.  —  Our  first  Cookery.  — 
A  sumptuous  Dinner.  —  Buying  a  Kettle, 277 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 

Pottery.  —  Building  a  Fire-place.  —  Building  a  Kitchen.  —  Commence 
ment  of  the  Rainy  Season.  —  A  Hunting  Expedition.  —  Great  Slaughter 
among  the  Antelopes.—  Smoked  Venison.—  History  of  a  Day.—  Leather 
Dressing.  —My  Success  in  Dyeing.  —  Keeping  a  Journal.  —  New  Kind 
of  Stationery.  — The  wonderful  Lamp, 284 

CHAPTER    XXVII. 

Extracts  from  my  Journal.  —  Dyeing. —  Making  a  Comb.  — Yams.— A 
new  Kind  of  Hair-brush.  —  Wishing  for  a  Pedlar. —Christinas. —  I 
build  another  House.  —  My  new  Clothes.  —  New  Furniture.  —  "  Can't 
afford  it."  —  Palm-leaf  Hats.  —  Hamlet.  —  Wild  Bees.  —  Going  to  Mar 
ket.  —  Fishing.  —  Hamlet's  irregular  Habits.  —  The  Kangaroo.  — My 
Birth-day, 292 

CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

End  of  the  Rainy  Season.  —  Caught  in  a  Shower.  —  A  Fit  of  Sickness.  — 
Sage  Tea.  —  Alice's  tender  Nursing.  —  Betrayal  of  her  Affection.  —  My 
Recovery.  —  An  Argument.  —  The  Promise, 299 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 

Returning  Spring.  —  Our  delicious  Mode  of  Life.  —  Journal.  —  Anniver 
sary  of  our  Landing.  —  Exploring  the  Cavern. —  Gathering  Figs.  — 
Forks  and  Spoons.  —  My  Bridal  Gift. —  Our  Wedding  Dresses.  — The 
Glee  of  the  Fountain.  —  The  Marriage  Ceremony.— Our  Wedding 
Tour, 304 

CHAPTER    XXX. 

Birth  of  a  Son.  —  His  Infancy.  —My  Happiness.  —I  introduce  Him  to 
Hamlet.  —Hamlet's  provoking  Nonchalance.— Their  mutual  Affection. 
—  Alice  makes  a  Picture  of  Them. —Jasper  begins  to  talk.  —  We  are 
in  Doubt  about  his  Education.  —  Conclusion  I  come  to.  —  Jacket  and 
Trousers.  —  Battle  with  the  Crocodile.  —  Its  successful  Issue,  .  .  312 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTEK    XXXI. 

Birth  of  a  Daughter.  —Our  Happiness  still  on  the  Increase.  —  Sight  of  a 

Ship,  and  the  Reflections  it  gave  rise   to. — Jasper's  Questions. His 

Bow  and  Arrows.  —His  Boldness  as  a  Rider.  —Hide-and-go-seek.  —  A 
growing  Family, 322 

CHAPTER    XXXII. 

An  exciting  Adventure.  —  A  Ramble  among  the  Hills.  —  Hamlet  and 
Jasper  go  on  before.  —  A  fearful  Surprise.  —  The  sleeping  Tigers.  — 
The  Pursuit.  — The  Mountain  Valley. —  A  desperate  Situation.— 
Hamlet  comes  to  the  Rescue. —The  Battle.  —  Sudden  Death  of  the 
young  Tigers.  —  Hamlet  hard  pressed  by  the  old  Ones.  —  Our  Victory. 
—  Hamlet's  Heroism, t  327 

CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

Our  growing  Attachment  to  our  Island  Home.  —  Jasper.  —His  Ignorance 
of  the  World.  —  Anniversary  of  our  Landing.  —  A  pleasant  Ramble. 
-  Talk  with  Alice.  —  Jasper's  PebWe.  —  What  is  Gold  ?  —  My  Rhap 
sody.  —  Pair  of  Scales, t  339 

CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

The  Curse  of  Gold.  — The  Poison  begins  to  work.  —  Plans.  —  Dates  ver 
sus  Pearls.  —  Digging  a  Canal. —Building  the  Dam.  — Making  a 
Trough.  —  Unsuccessful  Experiments.  —  A  lucky  Thought.  —  Weights 
and  Scales.  — A  golden  Harvest.  — A  big  Lump. —The  Miseries  of 
being  rich, 346 

CHAPTER    XXXV. 

Origin  of  the  Gold.  —  Commencement  of  the  Rainy  Season.  — Burying 
my  Treasures.  —  Winter  Employments.  —  Jasper  and  Alice;  their  Ig°- 
norance  and  Simplicity;  their  Idea  of  the  World.  —  What  is  a 
School?  — What  do  Children  learn  for  ?  — Want  of  Books. —Condi 
tion  in  which  I  should  leave  my  Posterity.  —  What  is  the  most  essen 
tial  Knowledge  ?  —  Growth  of  my  Plantation, 355 

CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

Rich  and  Poor.  —I  determine  to  leave  the  Island.  —Difficulties  in  the 
Way.— A  happy  Thought.  —  Grief  and  Surprise  of  Alice.  — She 


XII  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

seeks  to  dissuade  me  from  It.  —  My  Selfishness  and  Cruelty.  —  I  begin 
to  t)uild  a  Boat.  —  Description  of  It.  —  Search  for  Materials. — 
Making  a  Mould.  —  Launch  of  the  Alice.  —  An  unexpected  Difficulty. 

—  Rigging  our  Ship.  —  Her  Cargo  and  Provisions, 362 

CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

Our  last  Day  on  the  Island.  —  Lament  of  Alice.  — Her  Unwillingness  to 
go. —  We  remain  one  Day  longer.  —  The  last  Evening. —  The  Morning. 

—  The  Doe.  —  At  Sea.  —  Our  last  View  of  the  Island.  —  The  Storm.  — 
We  lose  our  Fire.  —  Land,  ho  !  —  The  Ship.  —  San  Francisco.  —  Selling 
my  Gold. — Our  second  Marriage,      374 

CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

We  arrive  in  Boston.  —  Its  Aspect.  —  Inquiries  for  my  Father's  Family. 

—  Disappointments.  —  I  buy  me  a  House  and  try  to  be  happy.  —  Our 
different  Trials.  —  Jasper's  Sickness.  —  His  last  Interview  with  Hamlet. 

—  His  Death, 384 

CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

We  leave  Boston,  and  arrive  in  New  York.  — We  lose  both  our  Children. 

—  We  hasten  Home.  —  Alice  is  taken  Sick.  —  Our  last  Interview.  — 
Her  Death.  —  Its  Effect  upon  me.  —  The  Wharf  at  Salem.  —  Retrospec 
tion. —  I  determine  to  go  back  to  my  Island, 393 

CHAPTER    XL. 

Conclusion.  —  Preparations  for  the  Voyage.  —  Dreams  and  Reveries. — 
Farewell.  — Brief  Notice  of  the  Author,   .  399 


THE  NEW  AGE  OF  GOLD. 


CHAPTER    I. 

INTRODUCTO  R Y. 

My  Birth-Place. — House  in  Boston.  —  Brief  Notice  of  my  Father  and 
Mother.  —  Early  Aspirations. —  My  First  Hero. —  lam  sent  to  Col 
lege. —  Sudden  Change  in  my  Fortunes. — The  Battle  of  Life. — Un 
successful  Attempts  to  get  into  Business. — Keeping  School.  —  Further 
Disappointments.  —  The  Wharf  at  Salem!  —  Gloomy  Reveries.  —  A 
Desperate  Resolution. 

I  WAS  born  in  Newburyport,  on  the  17th  day  of  April, 
1826,  in  an  old-fashioned  house  standing  hardly  a  stone's 
throw  from  the  mansion  of  Lord  Timothy  Dexter.  The 
wooden  statues  that  kept  guard  before  his  door  are  among  my 
earliest  recollections,  and  I  well  remember  the  mingled  sensa 
tions  of  awe  and  wonder  which  those  triumphs  of  art  excited 
in  my  infant  imagination. 

When  I  was  four  years  old,  my  father  removed  to  Boston, 
where,  for  several  years,  he  occupied  a  plain  brick  dwelling  in 
Atkinson  street,  not  far  from  the  corner  of  Milk.  In  front 
there  was  a  small  garden  ;  a  low  arbor  stood  at  one  end,  and 
at  the  other  a  flight  of  steps  led  up  to  the  roof  of  a  shed, 
where,  every  pleasant  Monday,  clothes  were  hung  out  to  dry. 
All  the  rest  of  the  week  I  had  this  lofty  retreat  entirely  to  my- 
2 


14  THE   NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

self;  and  there  I  used  to  linger,  hour  after  hour,  dreaming  of 
the  hanging-gardens  of  Babylon,  and  wondering  if  they  could 
really  have  been  so  much  finer  than  my  own.  A  grape-vine, 
that  hid  the  unpainted  trellis  with  its  luxuriant  foliage,  and 
hung  out  its  purple  clusters  far  above  my  head,  materially 
heightened  this  delightful  illusion. 

This  house  is  still  standing,  but  is  now,  I  believe,  tenanted 
by  several  families  of  Irish.  But  the  steps  and  the  grape 
vine  are  still  there,  and  still  among  the  dark  leaves  the  cruel 
spider  lies  in  wait  for  his  prey. 

I  do  not  know  that  anything  occurred  to  distinguish  my 
childhood  from  that  of  a  thousand  others. 

My  father  was  a  China  merchant,  for  many  years  the  senior 
partner  of  the  well-known  firm  of  llomaine,  Osgood  &  Co., 
in  which  situation  he  acquired  a  large  fortune,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  such  a  reputation  for  strict  integrity,  that  he 
was  commonly  known  among  his  acquaintances  as  Honest 
John. 

This  honesty,  I  think,  must  have  been  a  family  character 
istic.  My  uncle  Robert,  after  whom  I  was  named,  carried  it 
to  such  excess,  that  I  remember  he  always  used  to  stop  his 
cars  when  passing  an  organ-grinder  in  the  street,  because,  as 
he  said,  he  had  no  right  to  music  that  he  did  not  pay  for.  It 
is  needless  to  say  that  my  uncle  never  was  rich.  I  had,  at 
one  time,  indeed,  considerable  expectations  from  him,  as  he 
was  never  married ;  but  his  name  was  all  he  ever  gave  me, 
and,  as  that  unfortunately  was  not  at  all  to  my  fancy,  I  am 
sometimes  afraid  that  I  did  not  exhibit  quite  as  much  grati 
tude  as  he  deserved. 

My  father  was  a  kind  and  attentive  parent,  but  too  much 
engrossed  in  business  to  have  much  time  to  spare  for  ,his  fam 
ily  ;  but  my  mother,  from  whom  I  received  my  middle  name, 


INTTtODTJCTORY.  1 5 

was  one  of  the  best  women  that  ever  lived,  and  gave  me,  every 
day,  a  piece  of  gingerbread  as  big  as  my  two  hands.  I  remem 
ber  one  day,  when  I  was  about  nine  years  old,  how  surprised 
and  delighted  she  was  at  my  informing  her  that  I  had  already 
eaten  no  less  than  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-seven  pieces, 
amounting  altogether  to  twenty  thousand  three  hundred  and 
seventeen  cubic  inches,  or  very  nearly  twelve  cubic  feet; 
which  would  be,  at  least,  four  times  my  own  bulk. 

She  kissed  me  tenderly,  said  she  had  no  doubt  that  I  should 
be  a  great  man  some  of  these  days,  and  gave  me  a  piece  of 
gingerbread  twice  as  big  as  usual.  I  could  hardly  eat  it  from 
emotion  ;  and  I  resolved  then,  if  ever  I  grew  up,  that  she 
should  have  just  as  much  gingerbread  as  she  had  a  mind  to, 
even  if  I  had  nothing  for  myself  but  bread  and  water.  A 
pleasant  day-dream,  but  fated,  alas !  like  many  others,  never 
to  be  realized. 

My  life,  indeed,  at  that  time,  was  one  long  dream,  from 
which  I  waked  only  to  regret  that  I  had  ever  dreamed  at  all, 
or  else  to  wish  that  I  might  still  have  kept  on  dreaming. 

At  that  early  age,  however,  it  was  impossible  to  foresee  my 
future  destiny.  I  only  knew  that  I  was  intended  for  one  of 
the  liberal  professions,  and  I  thought  it  no  harm  to  anticipate, 
in  imagination,  the  brilliant  success  that  I  had  no  doubt  was 
in  store  for  me.  The  books  that  formed  my  favorite  reading, 
only  discovered  new  paths  to  my  insatiate  ambition.  Before 
I  was  ten  years  old,  I  had  run  through  the  whole  circle  of  the 
sciences,  discovered  the  source  of  the  Niger,  added  an  indefi 
nite  number  to  the  list  of  useful  inventions ;  surpassed  the 
most  famous  philosophers,  orators,  poets,  and  historians,  each 
on  his  own  ground ;  overrun,  at  the  head  of  my  victorious 
legions,  the  whole  of  Europe,  Africa,  and  Asia  ;  and,  finally,  sat 
down  and  wept,  like  Alexander,  for  another  world  to  conquer. 


16  THE   NEW   AGE   OP   GOLD. 

In  fact,  I  did  so  much,  while  only  a  boy,  that  there  was 
nothing  left  worth  doing  after  I  became  a  man.  So,  while 
others  around  me  were  pursuing,  each  one,  his  "favorite  phan 
tom,"  I  looked  on,  partly  in  envy,  and  partly  in  contempt,  and 
wondering  what  men  could  possibly  be  made  of,  who  would 
work  so  hard  to  get  so  little.  Not,  by  any  means,  that  I  was 
without  ambition.  No  one  had  a  keener  appreciation  of  the 
advantages  of  wealth  and  social  position.  But  they  were  not 
worth  the  trouble,  nor  the  delay.  If  I  could  have  drawn  on 
Fame  and  Fortune  in  advance,  then,  indeed  !  But  it  is  not 
their  way  of  doing  business  ;  they  would  not  give  me  credit, 
nor  would  I  trust  them.  Of  all  the  stumbling-blocks  in  the 
way  of  happiness  or  success,  this  is,  I  believe,  the  very  worst. 

I  was,  of  course,  the  devoutest  of  hero-worshippers ;  for 
was  I  not  some  day  to  be  a  hero  myself?  and  what  more 
natural  than  that  I  should  admire  my  own  character  as  I  found 
it  already  pictured  in  the  lives  of  others? 

My  first  hero  was  a  schoolmaster ;  and,  although  it  is  now 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  since  our  meeting,  I  have  not 
forgotten  the  feeling  it  inspired. 

The  way  it  happened  was  in  this  wise.      I  heard  my  father 

say,   one   day,  at  dinner,  that  Mr. was  coming  to  our 

house  that  evening,  at  nine  o'clock  ;  upon  which,  I  straight 
way  conceived  so  violent  a  longing  to  behold  that  exalted 
personage  with  my  own  eyes,  that  my  parents  at  length  yielded 
to  my  importunity,  and,  instead  of  sending  me  to  bed,  allowed 
me  to  sit  dozing  by  the  fire  long  after  my  usual  hour. 

At  the  appointed  moment,  punctual  as  General  Washington, 
the  godlike  man  arrived.  He  was  very  tall,  —  I  believe  school 
masters  in  those  days  always  were,  —  and  wore  glasses  ;  as  I 
am  sure  schoolmasters  always  ought  to.  He  shook  hands  with 
my  father,  and  then  with  me,  as  I  then  thought,  like  a  well- 


INTRODUCTORY.  17 

sweep  shaking  hands  with  a  pump,  and  sat  down.  I  found 
that  I  could  not  conveniently  see  his  head  where  I  was  sitting, 
so  I  drew  my  chair  into  the  farthest  corner,  and,  leaning  my 
chin  on  my  hands,  surveyed  him  with  admiration,  without  once 
taking  my  eyes  from  his  face  till  he  rose  to  go. 

That  was  an  epoch  in  my  life.  Since  then,  my  veneration 
for  schoolmasters  has  sensibly  diminished.  It  may  have  some 
thing  to  do  with  it,  that  I  have  been  a  schoolmaster  myself. 

Two  years  later,  I  was  sent  to  his  school,  where  I  was  sub 
jected  to  the  usual  drudgery ;  but  I  had  a  tolerable  memory, 
and,  though  not  fond  of  study,  I  was  a  good  scholar,  and  im 
proved  my  opportunities  so  well  that  at  thirteen  I  was  ready 
for  college.  As  my  father,  however,  thought  me  yet  too  young 
to  be  entirely  freed  from  parental  restraints,  I  remained  at 
home  nearly  two  years  longer,  reviewing  my  studies,  and  read 
ing  indiscriminately  whatever  came  in  my  way,  though  it  must 
be  confessed  that  travels  and  romances  formed  by  far  the  larg 
est  proportion.  There  was  nothing  to  interfere  with  my  enjoy 
ment  but  an  uneasy  consciousness  that  this  was  not  exactly  the 
way  to  make  a  hero ;  but  I  consoled  myself  by  the  reflection 
that  I  had  time  enough  yet,  and  that  when  I  entered  college  I 
should  begin  to  work  in  earnest. 

And  so,  in  truth,  I  did.  In  looking  back  upon  this  part  of 
my  life,  I  find  nothing  with  which  to  reproach  myself.  I  did 
my  whole  duty,  and  did  it  well.  Yet  this  is  precisely  that 
part  of  my  life  when  I  was  most  unhappy.  The  cold  shadow 
of  approaching  manhood  was  beginning  to  creep  over  my  soul. 
"  Ah  !  "  I  sighed,  involuntarily,  "  why  can  I  not  always  be  a 
boy  ?  " 

But  other  trials  were  in  store  for  me.  In  the  first  term  of 
my  junior  year,  an  unexpected  stroke  of  fortune  showed  me 
how  little  of  that  stuff,  \vhich  heroes  are  made  of,  entered  into 


18  THE   NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

my  composition.  My  father,  whom  I  had  all  along  supposed 
to  be  in  prosperous  circumstances,  suddenly  became  bankrupt. 
He  was  an  honest  man,  and  this  misfortune  broke  his  heart. 
The  letter  conveying  the  news  of  his  failure  was  in  some 
way  delayed,  so  that  I  received  both  that  and  the  one 
announcing  his  death  on  the  same  day.  I  might,  if  I  pleased, 
declare  that  I  grieved  only  for  my  father,  but  it  would  not  be 
true.  I  suffered  nearly  as  much  from  the  thought  that  he  had 
left  us  poor. 

In  the  following  story  of  my  life  I  do  not  intend  any  con 
cealment.  God  knows  that  I  have  no  longer  any  motive  for 
it !  If  I  keep  back  any  of  my  sins  or  weaknesses,  it  will  be 
because  I  do  not  know  them  myself. 

Now  I  shrank  from  poverty  as  one  of  the  sorest  evils  that 
can  befall  a  man.  I  longed  for  wealth  more  earnestly  than 
for  anything  but  fame  ;  and  the  idea  of  earning  money  was, 
of  all,  the  most  repugnant  to  my  feelings.  I  was  painfully 
conscious  of  some  want  in  my  mental  or  moral  constitution, 
I  knew  not  what,  that  unfitted  me  for  any  of  the  ordinary 
occupations  of  life. 

Some  said  th;it  I  was  lazy ;  some,  that  I  was  proud ;  every 
body  said  that  I  was  odd.  The  first  I  knew  was  not  true ; 
the  second  I  had  no  disposition  to  deny  ;  and,  as  for  the  third, 
since  everybody  said  so,  I  supposed,  of  course,  they  must  be 
right.  What  chance  there  is  in  this  world  for  one  who  is  both 
proud  and  odd  I  leave  my  readers  to  determine. 

And  the  change  had  come  upon  me  so  suddenly !  It  so 
completely  upset  all  my  calculations  !  If  it  had  not  been  for 
this,  I  should  have  been  —  but  no  matter  about  the  Should- 
havo-beens  ;  the  Have-beens  are  all  my  story. 

From  the  wreck  of  my  father's  property  my  mother  saved 
between  seventeen  and  eighteen  hundred  dollars,  a  very  small 


INTRODUCTORY.  19 

quantity  of  furniture,  and  a  house  to  match.  I  had  four 
brothers  and  sisters,  only  one  of  whom  was  of  an  age  to  ren 
der  her  any  assistance,  and  the  chief  burden  of  responsibility 
fell  upon  me.  I  shuddered  when  I  surveyed  my  own  unfit- 
ness  for  it. 

However,  something  must  be  done.  I  determined  to  leave 
college,  and  go  into  some  kind  of  business.  The  first  was 
easy  enough,  the  latter  more  difficult.  My  father  had  many 
friends,  and  I  naturally  supposed  that  any  of  them  would  bo 
glad  to  lend  me  a  helping  hand.  But  I  soon  found  that  affec 
tion  is  not  hereditary.  They  loved  the  father  too  well  to  have 
much  love  to  spare  for  the  son.  Or  they  thought  it  a  pity 
that  such  talents  as  mine  should  be  wasted  behind  a  counter. 
Or  they  feared  that  my  education  hud  unfitted  me  for  business. 
Thus,  by  degrees,  I  learned  the  way  of  the  world. 

On  one  of  those  heavy  days,  my  eye  fell  on  an  advertise 
ment  in  one  of  the  city  papers — the  Post,  I  think  it  was  — 
inquiring  for  a  teacher  for  an  academy  in  a  small  town  not 
many  miles  from  Boston,  and  as  I  had  had  some  experience 
in  that  line  during  my  Sophomore  year,  I  determined  to  apply 
for  the  situation. 

That  experience,  to  be  sure,  had  not  been  very  flattering. 
In  spite  of  the  black  hat,  dress-coat,  and  standing-up  collar, 
assumed  for  the  occasion,  my  extreme  youth  was  still  painfully 
apparent.  The  good  woman,  —  I  call  her  good,  because  I 
believe  she  was  the  worst  woman  that  ever  lived,  —  who  drove 
me  the  last  stage  of  my  journey,  inquired,  with  a  motherly 
kindness,  for  which  I  could  have  pitched  her  out  of  the  wagon, 

if  I  was  going  to  H to  attend  school  ;  to  which  I  replied, 

with  bitter  irony,  that  I  was.  This  was  my  first  mortifica 
tion. 

The  next  morning,  when  I  followed  the  committee-man,  who 


20  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

was  to  introduce  me,  up  the  broad  aisle  that  divided  the  school- 
room,  I  prayed  more  fervently  than  I  had  ever  done  in  my 
life  that  the  floor  might  open  and  swallow  me  up.  But  I  was 
reserved  for  better  fortunes.  I  ascended  the  steps  that  led  to 
my  throne,  more  like  a  criminal  ascending  the  gallows,  and, 
'casting  my  eyes  around,  saw  with  dismay  the  grown-up  boys 
and  girls,  who  stared  back  again  with  a  boldness  and  effrontery 
that  froze  my  heart. 

In  vain  I  sought  to  assert  my  lawful  supremacy.  In  vain  I 
sought  to  cheer  my  fainting  spirits  by  the  recollection  of  past 
achievements. 

"  Where  now,"  I  said,  "  are  the  courage  and  hardihood  that 
have  so  often  put  to  flight  whole  armies  of  blood-thirsty  Brit 
ish  ;  —  that  reversed  the  decrees  of  fate,  and  rolled  back  the 
tide  of  war  at  Waterloo  ?  Kemcmber  the  wit,  the  sarcasm, 
the  thunders  of  eloquence,  the  lightning  glances  of  the  eye, 
that  overthrew  the  startled  Democracy  on  the  floor  of  Con 
gress  !  Do  you  mean  now  to  be  frightened  at  a  parcel  of 
silly  girls?" 

And  my  cowardly  heart  said,  "  Yes." 

Accordingly  I  remained,  all  the  first  part  of  the  forenoon, 
snugly  entrenched  behind  my  wooden  walls;  but  when,  at 
recess,  I  attempted  to  leave  my  seat,  I  found  myself  bent  in 
the  most  perplexing  manner.  I  thought,  at  first,  that  a  repe 
tition  of  the  miracle  recorded  in  Eastern  story  was  about  to 
be  exhibited  in  my  person,  and  that  my  lower  half  was  turn 
ing  into  stone  ;  but,  on  applying  my  hand  to  the  part  affected, 
I  found  that  by  some  extraordinary  accident  a  large  quantity 
of  that  pitch  which  is  commonly  called  Burgundy  had  been 
spread  blister-wise  over  the  bottom  of  the  chair,  and,  having 
been  partially  melted  by  my  long  continuance  in  one  position, 
had  glued  me  fast  to  the  seat. 


INTRODUCTORY.  21 

From  the  glances  exchanged  among  my  pupils  I  judged  that 
they  had  been  in  expectation  of  witnessing  some  such  phenom 
enon,  and  at  first  I  thought  it  rather  unkind  in  them  not  to 
have  given  me  warning.  But,  on  thinking  the  matter  over  a 
little,  I  presently  concluded  that  they  themselves  had  been 
the  authors  of  this  innocent  stratagem,  and  that  they  intended 
in  that  delicate  manner  to  express  their  desire  to  make  my 
seat  as  firm  as  possible.  I  tried  to  remember  whether  I  had 
ever  read  of  any  people  who  were  in  the  habit  of  observing 
such  a  ceremony  in  the  inauguration  of  their  kings  ;  but,  being 
unable  to  recall  a  single  instance,  I  was  driven  to  the  conclu 
sion  that  it  was  a  custom  peculiar  to  our  own  country  alone. 

I  said  nothing,  however,  for  fear  of  exposing  my  ignorance, 
and,  having  with  some  difficulty  extricated  myself  from  this 
embarrassing  situation,  I  left  the  school-room,  and,  passing  out 
into  the  open  air,  strolled  leisurely  down  to  a  shallow  brook, 
which  ran  babbling  through  the  meadow  at  no  great  distance ; 
when  I  attempted  to  restore  my  wonted  equanimity  by  con 
templating  the  little  fishes  that  swam  slowly  or  in  haste  be 
neath  the  bridge,  and  by  throwing  to  them,  from  time  to  time, 
certain  crumbs  of  gingerbread  I  had  by  chance  in  my  trousers 
pocket. 

After  lingering  here  as  long  as  T  dared,  wishing  all  the 
while  that  I  were  one  of  those  fishes  myself,  I  reluctantly  re 
traced  my  steps;  but,  as  I  approached  the  school-house,  a 
party  of  girls  standing  in  the  door  seemed  inclined  to  dispute 
the  passage.  I  thought  they  regarded  me  with  sly  defying 
laughter,  and,  as  I  drew  still  nearer,  my  over-sensitive  ear 
caught  the  words,  "Stay  where  you  are;  he'll  never  dare  to 
go  in." 

Alas !  those  words  carried  with  them  their  own  fulfilment. 
Those  words  of  doom  !  Still  I  was  too  proud  to  run ;  at  least  I 


TIIE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

of  the  competition  I  should  have  to  encounter  made  my  heart 
sink  within  me  like  a  stone. 

Let  the  strong  ones  of  this  earth  despise  me,  if  they  will ; 
let  them  cry  out  at  my  weakness  and  pusillanimity,  and  boast 
themselves,  as  they  can,  in  their  own  boldness  and  hardihood ! 
I  am  weak ;  I  know  it ;  but  I  shall  not  go  to  them  for  help. 

I  left  my  seat  and  walked  down  to  the  lower  end  of  the 
wharf.  The  dark,  low-browed  clouds  seemed  like  another  sea. 
The  water  lapping  against  the  piles  suggested  an  easy  escape 
from  my  troubles.  One  leap,  and  all  would  be  over.  There 
was  a  strange  pleasure  in  the  thought  how  people  would  talk 
of  me.  But  the  water  looked  deadly  cold,  and  the  dread 
finality  of  the  thing  appalled  me. 

I  stood  opposite  a  barque  that  had  already  drawn  out  into 
the  stream  preparatory  to  an  eastern  voyage.  I  thought  of 
my  mother,  and  my  heart  stood  still.  It  was  waiting  for  my 
decision.  Now  it  began  again,  but  no  longer  as  before.  The 
softness  of  youth  had  fled.  All  was  now  chilled  and  hard  as 
a  Toledo  blade. 

I  shipped  as  a  sailor  before  the  mast,  and  in  twenty-four 
hours  lost  sight  of  my  native  land.  I  have  written  so  much 
of  boyish  reminiscence  by  way  of  introduction ;  my  real  story 
will  commence  with  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER    II. 

Going  to  Sea.  —  My  first  Appearance  as  a  Sailor.  —  Meeting  with  Captain 
Bridges.  —  Selling  my  Watch.  —  The  Three  Sisters.  —  Superstitious  Be 
lief. —  Captain  Bridges.  —  Miseries  of  my  Situation.  —  More  Aspira 
tions. —  Our  three  Passengers.  —  Mr.  Cremorne.  —  The  Bear. — First 
Sight  of  Alice.  —  Scraping  an  Acquaintance.  — Castles  in  the  Air. 

IT  was  the  fifth  day  of  December,  1842,  when  we  set  sail 
from  Salem.  I  had  taken  the  precaution,  before  presenting 
myself  to  the  captain,  to  exchange  the  clothes  I  had  on  for 
ethers  better  suited  to  my  new  condition ;  and  I  had  at  first 
some  hopes  of  deceiving  him  into  the  belief  that  I  had  already 
made  at  least  one  voyage  round  the  world;  but  a  simple 
glance  into  the  cracked  looking-glass,  that  hung  in  one  corner 
of  the  dirty  shop  to  which  I  had  resorted,  at  once  dispelled 
this  fond  illusion.  In  fact,  if  such  a  thing  were  possible,  I 
looked  even  less  like  a  sailor  than  before.  My  smooth,  boyish 
face  from  under  the  large  tarpaulin  looking  out  with  a  half- 
saucy,  half-frightened  air,  the  loose  jacket  and  trousers  I  wore 
with  so  ill  a  grace,  and  the  whiteness  of  my  hands,  as  yet  un 
used  to  labor,  almost  drove  me  to  despair.  When  I  came  out 
into  the  street,  it  seemed  as  if  every  one  I  met  must  discover 
my  secret.  More  than  one  looked  hard  at  me,  and  one  or  two 
I  was  sure  laughed  outright. 
3 


26  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

It  is  a  wonder  to  me  now  how  I  had  courage  to  persevere. 
If  I  could  have  thought  of  any  way  to  get  back  my  old 
clothes,  I  have  little  doubt  that  I  should  have  abandoned  my 
resolution.  But  I  kept  on  till  I  came  to  a  place  where  some 
men  were  digging  a  cellar.  The  clay  that  they  threw  out  was 
a  soft  moist  blue.  I  picked  up  a  piece,  and,  as  I  walked 
along,  I  smeared  my  hands,  the  sleeves  of  my  jacket,  and  the 
knees  of  my  trousers,  till  I  had  brought  them  to  a  right  ple 
beian  color ;  but  the  effect,  after  all,  did  not  answer  my  expect 
ations.  Dirt  was  plainly  no  more  natural  to  me  than  an 
Irishman's  brogue.  Still  I  thought  it  would  show  the  captain 
that  I  was  not  afraid  of  it. 

But  the  question  now  presented  itself,  How  am  I  to  get 
aboard  the  barque  ?  For  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  go  in 
that  vessel,  and  no  other.  She  lay  far  out  in  the  stream,  and 
I  could  not  afford  to  hire  a  boat.  I  had,  to  be  sure,  a  dollar 
in  my  pocket  (I  had  given  the  other  two  to  the  keeper  of  the 
slop-shop),  but  it  was  the  last  dollar  I  had  received  of  my 
father's  property,  and  I  could  not  bear  to  part  with  it. 

At  this  moment  fortune  came  to  my  assistance.  While  I 
stood  hesitating  near  the  landing,  a  boat  put  off  from  the 
barque,  and  rowed  swiftly  towards  the  wharf.  The  captain, 
as  I  instantly  concluded,  was  coming  ashore  to  receive  his  last 
orders.  Now  then,  if  ever,  was  the  time  to  make  my  appli 
cation.  He  left  the  boat,  ascended  the  steps,  and,  without 
stopping  a  moment,  held  on  his  way  up  the  wharf.  He  passed 
so  close  to  me  that  his  clothes  brushed  against  mine.  There 
was  nothing  to  prevent  my  speaking  to  him,  but,  to  save  my 
life,  I  could  not  have  mustered  a  syllable.  I  had  in  some 
way  or  other  made  up  my  mind  that  he  would  certainly  wait 
a  few  minutes  to  give  some  orders  to  the  men,  and  then  I 


MEETING    WITH    CAPTAIN    BRIDGES.  27 

thought  I  could  address  him  ;  but  this  unexpected  emergency 
deprived  me  of  all  power  of  thought  or  action. 

Nothing  is  more  amusing  than  the  trifles  by  which  our  des 
tiny  is  determined.  The  captain  took  a  few  steps  up  the 
wharf,  then,  abruptly  turning,  demanded  in  a  harsh  voice  if  I 
wanted  to  ship. 

He  had  seen  me,  as  I  inferred,  at  first  landing,  and  decided 
that  I  would  not  answer  his  purpose ;  but  being  short-handed, 
one  of  his  men  it  seems  having  just  given  him  the  slip,  he  con 
cluded,  on  second  thoughts,  to  see  what  could  be  done  with  me. 
As  I  was  not  particular  about  wages,  our  bargain  was  soon 
completed.  I  engaged  for  the  voyage  out  and  back,  at  eight 
dollars  a  month  ;  and  then,  having  first  accompanied  the  cap 
tain  to  his  owners,  to  sign  the  ship's  papers,  I  left  him  to  make 
a  few  hasty  preparations. 

In  order  to  furnish  myself  with  the  necessary  clothing,  I 
was  compelled  to  part  with  my  watch ;  for,  though  I  could 
probably  have  obtained  some  slight  advance  on  my  wages,  I 
shrank  from  making  the  request.  The  watch  was  a  very 
pretty  one, —  a  present  from  my  mother  ;  and  I  cannot  describe 
my  feelings  when  I  saw  the  jeweller  carelessly  hang  it  up 
among  a  hundred  others  that  ticked  just  above  his  head.  But 
I  was  coming  back,  some  day  or  other,  with  plenty  of  money, 
and  then  perhaps  I  could  redeem  it. 

After  buying  my  necessary  outfit,  in  which  I  trusted  more 
to  the  shopkeeper's  judgment  than  my  own,  I  had  only  time 
to  write  a  hasty  letter  to  my  mother,  informing  her  of  my  res 
olution,  and  asking  her  forgiveness.  I  trust  that  I  have 
obtained  it. 

It  was  a  cowardly  desertion,  I  know ;  but  what  else  could 
I  do  ?  The  world  was  then  too  hard  lor  me.  I  could  not 
contend  with  it  with  any  prospect  of  success.  Instead  of 


28  THE   NEW   AGE   OP   GOLD. 

helping  my  mother,  I  should  only  have  been  an  incumbrance ; 
so  at  least  I  tried  to  persuade  myself,  as,  having  finished  my 
letter,  I  walked  down  to  the  wharf,  and  took  my  seat  in  the 
boat  that  was  to  convey  me  to  the  barque. 

We  sailed  about  dusk,  and  with  a  fine  breeze;  and,  night 
coming  on,  we  soon  lost  sight  of  land.  When  I  looked  for  it 
the  next  morning,  I  saw  only  a  dim  cloud  in  the  horizon ; 
every  hour  it  grew  fainter,  and  at  last  I  saw  it  no  more. 

The  ship  to  which  I  now  belonged  was  a  fine  barque,  of 
some  three  hundred  and  fifty  tons,  and  was  called  the  Three 
Sisters.  She  was  built  on  the  Clyde,  and  had  already  made 
one  voyage  to  the  East  Indies,  where  she  had  been  bought  by 
an  American  merchant,  by  the  name  of  Maxwell,  to  whom  she 
still  belonged.  She  was  of  a  very  pretty  model,  with  new 
spars  and  rigging  throughout ;  there  was  a  broad  white  streak 
round  her  waist,  and  her  inner  works  had  just  been  painted 
of  a  bright  straw  color ;  so  that,  take  her  altogether,  she  was 
by  far  the  handsomest  ship  in  the  harbor. 

It  was  to  this  circumstance  alone  that  I  then  attributed 
the  extraordinary  attraction  which  drew  me  towards  her.  I 
have  since  thought  that  deeper  causes  might  have  been  at 
work,  and  that  what  seemed  entirely  the  work  of  chance,  might 
be  shown,  by  a  finer,  more  transcendental  philosophy,  to  have 
been  the  inevitable  consequence  of  my  past  existence. 

The  Three  Sisters,  so  the  sailors  now  informed  me,  was  by 
no  means  a  lucky  vessel ;  she  had  met  with  nothing  but  dis 
aster  in  both  her  former  voyages;  and  the  present,  if  there 
was  any  virtue  in  signs,  promised  to  prove  still  more  unfor 
tunate.  Long  Bill,  the  oldest  and  most  experienced  man  on 
board,  declared,  over  and  over  again,  that  she  would  never 
enter  port;  and  in  this  belief  his  hearers  all  devoutly 
joined. 


CAPTAIN    BRIDGES.  29 

Though  not  at  all  given  to  superstition  I  came  myself  in 
sensibly  to  believe  the  same  thing  ;  but,  so  far  from  depress 
ing  my  spirits,  it  produced  rather  a  strange  feeling  of  satisfac 
tion  ;  for  as,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  events,  I  saw  no  relief 
from  my  present  difficulties,  I  was  constantly  hoping  that 
something  extraordinary  would  turn  up,  which,  if  it  did 
not  mak ,  my  fortunes,  would  at  least  mar  them  beyond  re 
demption.  Anything,  I  thought,  was  better  than  this  tor 
menting  uncertainty. 

We  had  an  assorted  cargo,  containing,  among  other  things, 
a  few  packages  of  furs,  some  bales  of  coarse  cotton,  several 
cases  of  shoes,  and  a  small  quantity  of  cutlery  and  hardware, 
which  the  sister  of  the  captain's  wife  was  sending  out  on  a 
venture. 

The  captain's  name  was  Bridges.  I  do  not  remember  his 
first  name  very  well,  but  I  think  it  was  John  or  Nieodemus, 
1  am  not  sure  which.  He  was  a  small,  spare  man, 
unusually  swarthy,  even  for  a  sailor,  and  with  eyes  that 
looked,  as  one  of  the  crew  rather  profanely  remarked,  like 
gimlet-holes  in  h — .  The  men  said  that  he  had  formerly  been 
a  pirate,  and  they  were  very  much  in  awe  of  him  ;  though,  for 
ray  own  part,  I  must  confess  that  1  never  could  discover  any 
thing  in  his  appearance  or  behavior  to  justify  such  a  suspicion, 
unless  it  were  the  simple  circumstance  of  his  having  no  thumb 
on  his  left  hand. 

This,  indeed,  would  hardly  be  received  as  evidence  in  a 
court  3f  law;  yet,  to  speak  the  truth,  it  is  almost  incredible 
what  an  effect  this  apparently  trifling  loss  had  upon  every 
person  who  approached  him.  As  long  as  that  was  unnoticed, 
you  saw  nothing  very  unusual  in  his  appearance ;  but  the 
moment  it  was  discovered,  a  total  revulsion  took  place  in  your 
feelings.  His  dark  face  seemed  darker  than  ever,  and  his 
3* 


28  THE   NEW    AGE   OF   GOLD. 

helping  ray  mother,  I  should  only  have  been  an  incumbrance , 
so  at  least  I  tried  to  persuade  myself,  as,  having  finished  my 
letter,  I  walked  down  to  the  wharf,  and  took  my  seat  in  the 
boat  that  was  to  convey  me  to  the  barque. 

We  sailed  about  dusk,  and  with  a  fine  breeze;  and,  night 
coining  on,  we  soon  lost  sight  of  land.  When  I  looked  for  it 
the  next  morning,  I  saw  only  a  dim  cloud  in  the  horizon ; 
every  hour  it  grew  fainter,  and  at  last  I  saw  it  no  more. 

The  ship  to  which  I  now  belonged  was  a  fine  barque,  of 
some  three  hundred  and  fifty  tons,  and  was  called  the  Three 
Sisters.  She  was  built  on  the  Clyde,  and  had  already  made 
one  voyage  to  the  East  Indies,  where  she  had  been  bought  by 
an  American  merchant,  by  the  name  of  Maxwell,  to  whom  she 
still  belonged.  She  was  of  a  very  pretty  model,  with  new 
spars  and  rigging  throughout ;  there  was  a  broad  white  streak 
round  her  waist,  and  her  inner  works  had  just  been  painted 
of  a  bright  straw  color ;  so  that,  take  her  altogether,  she  was 
by  far  the  handsomest  ship  in  the  harbor. 

It  was  to  this  circumstance  alone  that  I  then  attributed 
the  extraordinary  attraction  which  drew  me  towards  her.  I 
have  since  thought  that  deeper  causes  might  have  been  at 
work,  and  that  what  seemed  entirely  the  work  of  chance,  might 
be  shown,  by  a  finer,  more  transcendental  philosophy,  to  have 
been  the  inevitable  consequence  of  my  past  existence. 

The  Three  Sisters,  so  the  sailors  now  informed  me,  was  by 
no  means  a  lucky  vessel ;  she  had  met  with  nothing  but  dis 
aster  in  both  her  former  voyages;  and  the  present,  if  there 
was  any  virtue  in  signs,  promised  to  prove  still  more  unfor 
tunate.  Long  Bill,  the  oldest  and  most  experienced  man  on 
board,  declared,  over  and  over  again,  that  she  would  never 
enter  port;  and  in  this  belief  his  hearers  all  devoutly 
joined. 


CAPTAIN    BRIDGES.  29 

Though  not  at  all  given  to  superstition  I  came  myself  in 
sensibly  to  believe  the  same  thing  ;  but,  so  far  from  depress 
ing  my  spirits,  it  produced  rather  a  strange  feeling  of  satisfac 
tion  ;  for  as,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  events,  I  saw  no  relief 
from  my  present  difficulties,  I  was  constantly  hoping  that 
something  extraordinary  would  turn  up,  which,  if  it  did 
not  mak ,  my  fortunes,  would  at  least  mar  them  beyond  re 
demption.  Anything,  I  thought,  was  better  than  this  tor 
menting  uncertainty. 

We  had  an  assorted  cargo,  containing,  among  other  things, 
a  few  packages  of  furs,  some  bales  of  coarse  cotton,  several 
cases  of  shoes,  and  a  small  quantity  of  cutlery  and  hardware, 
which  the  sister  of  the  captain's  wife  was  sending  out  on  a 
venture. 

The  captain's  name  was  Bridges.  I  do  not  remember  his 
first  name  very  well,  but  I  think  it  was  John  or  Nicodemus, 
1  am  not  sure  which.  lie  was  a  small,  spare  man, 
unusually  swarthy,  even  for  a  sailor,  and  with  eyes  that 
looked,  as  one  of  the  crew  rather  profanely  remarked,  like 
gimlet-holes  in  h — .  The  men  said  that  he  had  formerly  boon 
a  pirate,  and  they  were  very  much  in  awe  of  him  •  though,  for 
my  own  part,  I  must  confess  that  I  never  could  discover  any 
thing  in  his  appearance  or  behavior  to  justify  such  a  suspicion, 
unless  it  were  the  simple  circumstance  of  his  having  no  thumb 
on  his  left  hand. 

This,  indeed,  would  hardly  be  received  as  evidence  in  a 
court  }f  law ;  yet,  to  speak  the  truth,  it  is  almost  incredible 
what  an  eflect  this  apparently  trifling  loss  had  upon  every 
person  who  approached  him.  As  long  as  that  was  unnoticed, 
you  saw  nothing  very  unusual  in  his  appearance ;  but  the 
moment  it  was  discovered,  a  total  revulsion  took  place  in  your 
feelings.  His  dark  face  seemed  darker  than  ever,  and  his 
3* 


30  THE* NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 

eye  blazed  with  a  deeper  fire.  No  effort  of  reason  or  good 
nature  was  able  entirely  to  efface  the  impression  thus  made. 
I  had  never  the  slightest  cause  of  complaint  against  him,  yet 
even  now  I  cannot  think  of  him  with  any  complacency. 

No  such  difficulty  existed  in  regard  to  my  messmates,  yet 
for  some  reason  or  other  I  failed  to  acquire  their  confidence. 
I  could  not  readily  adapt  myself  to  my  new  circumstances  • 
the  squalid  aspect  of  the  forecastle  disgusted  me.  There  was 
too  great  a  contrast  between  our  coarse  fare  and  the  luxu 
ries  of  my  father's  table.  The  sufferings  I  endured  from 
home-sickness,  which  with  me  amounted  to  a  positive  disease, 
were  such  as  no  one  can  understand  who  has  not  himself  ex 
perienced  them.  I  was  conscious,  too,  of  a  sense  of  degrada 
tion,  as  if  I  had  been  unfaithful  to  myself  in  descending  so 
far  below  my  true  position,  and  thus  giving  the  lie  to  all 
those  brilliant  aspirations  in  which  I  had  so  long  indulged. 

In  short,  during  my  first  week  at  sea  I  was  so  astonish 
ingly  miserable  that,  if  I  could  have  foreseen  the  half  of  it, 
nothing  could  have  induced  me  to  make  the  venture.  But 
that  step  once  taken  could  not  be  recalled.  And,  miserable 
as  I  was,  I  was  glad  to  have  it  so.  There  was  my  only  safety. 

And  here  let  me  recommend  this  course  of  action  to  all 
whose  temperament  is  like  my  own.  If  they  are  ever  in 
doubt  as  to  what  is  best  to  be  done,  as  they  are  always  sure 
to  be,  let  them  at  once  commit  themselves  in  such  a  way  that 
they  cannot  draw  back.  There  is  not  half  so  much  in  the 
choice  as  they  are  apt  to  imagine.  ONE  THING  is  VERY 
NEARLY  AS  GOOD  AS  ANOTHER.  At  any  rate  a  bad  decision  is 
better  than  none,  and  what  may,  perhaps,  look  like  folly  is 
often  the  truest  wisdom. 

It  was  not  long  before  I  began  to  find  certain  alleviations 
of  my  unhappiness.  The  life  of  the  sailor  is  well  fitted  to 


OUR    PASSENGERS.  3 1 

idle  revery,  and  I  began,  once  more,  to  indulge  in  my  favor 
ite  habit  of  castle-building.  I  looked  forward  with  a  dreamy 
sort  of  satisfaction  to  the  strange  and  barbarous  countries  we 
were  about  to  visit,  and  pleased  myself  with  thoughts  of  the 
many  and  wonderful  discoveries  I  should  there  make  for  the 
enlightenment  of  the  world.  I  compared  myself  to  Columbus, 
to  Marco  Polo,  and  to  other  travellers,  if  there  be  any,  yet 
more  famous  than  they.  I  thought  how  the  world  would  stare 
when  they  heard  my  name,  and  all  that  I  had  accomplished  ; 
and  my  mother  !  there  was  the  source  of  a  far  purer  joy.  I 
fed  my  heart  upon  her  smiles. 

It  had  always  been  one,  though,  perhaps,  the  least  oi'  all 
my  day-dreams,  to  discover  the  source  of  the  Niger.  Now,  I 
saw  before  me  the  way  to  its  fulfilment.  Fortune  had  evi 
dently  marked  me  out  for  a  traveller.  With  the  experience 
acquired  by  this  voyage,  I  would  hasten  to  London  ;  I  would 
present  myself  before  the  lloyal  Society,  and  demand  their 
assistance.  They  would  ask  me,  as  they  had  done  Ledyard, 
when  I  should  be  ready ;  but,  instead  of  requiring  a  whole 
day,  I  would  reply,  "  This  minute." 

So  my  first  week  passed  away,  in  alternations  of  glowing 
fancy  and  darkest  gloom.  Then  there  came  a  sudden  and  to 
me  a  most  amazing  change. 

On  board  our  ship  were  three  passengers.  The  first  was 
an  old  gentleman  about  sixty  years  of  age ;  of  a  fine  florid 
complexion,  a  benign  and  cheerful  expression,  and,  as  I 
judged  the  first  time  I  saw  him,  of  far  more  than  ordinary 
intelligence.  In  less  than  a  week  he  had  made  himself  a 
favorite  with  every  man  on  board.  How,  I  do  not  know,  for 
he  hardly  ever  spoke ;  but  there  was  that  in  his  air  which 
plainly  declared  the  goodness  of  his  heart. 

The  second  passenger  was  a  young  grizzly  bear,  which  my 


32  THE   NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

old  gentleman  was  carrying  to  China,  with  the  intention  of 
presenting  him  to  the  emperor.  It  was  his  wish,  it  seemed, 
to  travel  into  the  interior  of  that  country ;  and  he  probably 
thought  that,  with  such  an  introduction,  he  should  have  less 
difficulty  in  accomplishing  his  design. 

I  judged  from  this  bear's  physiognomy  that  he  would  bite. 

But  neither  the  bear  nor  his  keeper,  however  interesting 
they  might  be,  had  any  power  to  dissipate  my  melancholy,  or 
turn  my  thoughts  into  another  channel.  This  result  was 
brought  about  in  a  very  difi'erent  manner. 

One  day,  when  we  had  been  a  little  more  than  a  week  at 
sea,  I  was  set  to  work,  with  Long  Bill  and  two  or  three  others, 
to  overhaul  the  main  rigging,  which,  being  new,  had  become 
somewhat  slack  since  leaving  port.  It  was  about  nine  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  The  air  was  soft  and  warm,  for  we  had  had, 
thus  far,  a  most  favorable  run,  and  had  already  sailed  far  into 
the  spring,  while  summer  still  beckoned  us  on.  We  had  been 
at  work  only  a  few  minutes,  when  a  sudden  exclamation  from 
one  of  my  companions  arrested  my  attention. 

There,  on  the  quarter-deck,  scarcely  ten  feet  from  where  I 
was  standing,  sat  a  young  lady,  a  young  girl,  rather,  of  per 
haps  four  times  fourteen  springs  ;  for,  surely,  never  summer, 
nor  autumn,  nor  winter,  had  yet  passed  over  that  fair  head. 

0,  that  I  had  then  been  changed  to  stone,  to  gaze  forever 
into  those  eyes,  so  dreamy  and  profound  !  Yet  she  did  not 
look  at  me.  Her  soul  sat  far  back  behind  those  eyes,  quiet 
and  serene.  I  sought  in  vain  to  find  my  soul  reflected  there, 
as  one  sees  his  image,  far  down  in  a  deep  and  silent  well,  look 
ing  at  him  out  of  that  little  patch  of  heaven. 

I  looked  at  her,  but  she  never  looked  at  me.  I  studied  her 
unobserved ;  or,  rather,  I  knew  her  without  a  study  or  a 


FIRST   SIGHT   OF   ALICE.  33 

thought.  I  caught  every  shade,  every  faintest  ripple  that 
stole  over  that  glassy,  fathomless  sea  — 

As  the  sea  was  when  the  first  blush  of  sunrise  kindled  upon 
it  at  the  dawn  of  creation  ;  before  ever  a  tempest  had  ruffled 
its  face  ;  before  the  blackness  of  midnight  had  settled  upon  it ; 
before  storm,  and  shipwreck,  and  the  angry  violence  of  man, 
had  sullied  its  virgin  purity ;  when  it  was  an  object  of  love 
and  wonder,  but  not  of  fear  ;  before  it  had  drowned  a  world. 

I  saw  her  young  imagination  feeding  upon  the  scene  around 
her,  like  the  silkworm  upon  its  leaf,  to  evolve  from  it  a  fabric 
of  infinitely  greater  delicacy  and  beauty.  I  saw  the  changing 
forms  of  her  thought  like  a  summer  cloud  continually  pre 
senting  new  surfaces  to  the  sun.  I  saw  her  conscious  shy- 
iiess,  her  wondering  timidity,  her  laughing,  blushing,  self-re 
proving  joy.  I  saw  how  she  almost  held  her  very  breath,  like 
a  child  with  its  first  bubble.  I  wondered  —  I  hope  not  pro 
fanely  —  whether  it  were  not  so  with  God  when  he  launched 
his  first  world  in  space.  I  hid  myself  in  her  perfections,  like 
an  elf  nestling  in  the  heart  of  a  rose. 

Yet  this  was  not  the  first  I  had  known  of  her  presence.  I 
knew  before  that  we  had  three  passengers,  and  I  had  heard 
one  of  them  mentioned  slightingly  as  a  little  girl.  But  those 
words  made  no  impression.  My  heart  was  not  yet  ripe.  I 
had  seen  plenty  of  little  girls  before,  and  had  always  found 
them  a  very  useless,  uninteresting  set  of  beings.  What  they 
were  intended  for,  or  what  possible  good  they  could  do  in  the 
world,  was  entirely  beyond  my  comprehension. 

But  now  I  seemed  suddenly  gifted  with  a  new  sense.  A 
new  set  of  emotions  took  possession  of  my  soul.  The  clouds 
of  despondency  were  scattered ;  the  sun  shone  in  again. 

I  gave  myself  up  without  reserve  to  this  passion  which  was 
at  once  so  novel  and  delightful.  I  fed  eagerly  on  that  deli- 


34  THE   NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD. 

clous  fancy  till  I  forgot  the  painful  reality  of  my  situation. 
I  forgot  that  I  was  only  a  poor  sailor,  that  my  clothes  were 
coarse  and  ill-fashioned,  that  my  hands  were  rough  and  hard 
with  toil,  and  my  face  browned  by  the  sun. 

And  even  when  I  became  again  conscious  of  these  things, 
they  seemed  glorified  by  my  love.  No  labor  could  now 
fatigue  or  hardship  disgust  me.  I  bore  it  all  for  her. 

Glorious,  indeed,  was  the  baptism  I  was  now  baptized  with. 

I  resolved  to  take  the  first  opportunity  of  addressing  my 
idol,  that  I  might  hear  the  sound  of  her  voice ;  as  one  would 
run  his  fingers  over  the  keys  of  a  beautiful  instrument,  to  see 
if  its  inner  harmony  corresponded  to  its  external  finish.  Yet 
it  was  long  before  I  could  muster  courage.  Many  a  time, 
when  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  speak,  I  found  myself  struck 
dumb.  Away  from  her  I  framed  many  an  eloquent  and 
burning  sentence,  but  in  her  presence  my  words  seemed  frozen 
together. 

How  well  I  remember  the  first  words  she  ever  heard  from 
my  lips  !  Common  words  enough,  and  to  the  common  ear 
void  of  meaning,  but  to  me  how  rich,  how  stately,  how  full  of 
pomp  and  magnificence!  like  a  train  of  camels  laden  with 
gold,  and  spices,  and  odors,  and  precious  stones. 

She  was  leaning  over  the  bulwarks,  gazing  down  into  the 
sea.  I  approached  her  with  the  ostensible  purpose  of  stowing 
away  a  coil  of  rigging  that  was  already  better  disposed  than 
I  could  do  it.  I  said  to  her,  glancing  round  to  be  sure  that 
no  one  else  could  hear,  "  Have  you  ever  been  at  sea,  before, 
Miss  Cremorne?  "  then  drew  back  a  step,  amazed  and  blush 
ing  at  my  own  audacity. 

She  turned  and  looked  at  me  with  her  large,  wondering 
eyes,  and  a  faint,  almost  imperceptible  smile  dimpled  her 
cheek.  With  all  my  skill  in  physiognomy,  I  could  not  quite 


SCRAPING    AN    ACQUAINTANCE.  35 

mnke  up  my  mind  as  to  the  meaning  of  that  smile.  Yet, 
whatever  it  might  be,  I  thought  I  would  have  her  smile  for 
ever.  I  could  rejoice  myself  in  that  light,  even  though  it 
scorched  me  to  ashes. 

But  the  next  moment  her  face  had  assumed  its  wonted 
intensity.  The  "  No,  sir,"  that  fell  from  her  lips,  was  as  curt 
and  peremptory  as  a  queen's.  Then  she  smiled  again,  but 
after  a  different  sort,  as  if  to  heal  any  wounds  she  might  have 
inflicted,  and  moved  away.  Soon  after,  I  saw  her  standing 
by  her  grandfather ;  they  were  talking  merrily  together ;  he 
glanced  towards  me  and  then  at  her,  and  laid  his  hand  upon 
his  heart.  He  looked  partly  amused,  partly  incredulous,  and 
partly  vexed. 

As  for  myself,  I  felt  as  if  somehow  I  had  done  a  very 
foolish  thing,  and,  at  the  same  time,  if  it  was  to  be  done  over 
again,  that  I  should  not  hesitate  an  instant.  I  was  angry 
with  her,  and  delighted  with  her,  in  the  same  moment.  She 
was  proud  and  shy,  —  so  much  was  certain  ;  but  for  that  I 
liked  her  all  the  better.  She  had  a  right  to  be.  I  should  have 
done  the  same  thing  myself.  She  looked  down  upon  me,  if 
not  with  contempt,  at  least  with  a  full  consciousness  of  the 
•wide  distance  between  us.  And  so  she  should.  What  else 
could  I  expect?  If  her  behavior  towards  me  had  been  differ 
ent,  I  should  have  felt  jealous  of  myself.  For,  after  all,  it 
was  not  I  she  looked  down  upon, —  it  was  somebody  else,  a 
second  personality,  closely  connected  with  me  it  was  true,  but 
which  I  could  throw  off  at  pleasure.  If  I  should  present 
myself  to  her  in  my  proper  person,  she  would  not  recognize 
me  as  one  whom  she  had  ever  seen  before. 

I  remained  where  she  had  left  me,  thoughtful  and  abstracted, 
but  not  unhappy.  I  was  already  busy  with  the  most  delight 
ful  fancies.  I  thought  how,  when  I  was  rich  and  honored 


36  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

I  would  again  present  myself  before  her.  I  ran  through  the 
whole  blissful  round.  I  saw  her  blessed  countenance  beam 
upon  me  as  if  she  had  dissolved  her  whole  soul  into  a  single 
smile,  as  Cleopatra  dissolved  her  pearl,  as  some  royal 
entertainers  have  lavished  a  whole  fortune  in  a  single  feast. 

I  felt  her  hand  on  my  shoulder,  her  soft  cheek  touching 
mine.  I  heard,  as  in  a  dream,  her  words  of  love.  »Their 
echo  has  not  yet  died  away  in  my  soul. 

Her  half-real,  half-affected  coyness !  The  slow  but  sure 
surrendering  of  her  affections!  Her  playful  coquetry,  like 
the  little  waves  upon  the  shore,  continually  running  back,  yet 
always  advancing  !  The  full,  rapturous  possession !  The 
hiffh  spring-tide  of  love  ! 

But  I  would  never  part  with  these  homely  garments.  Some 
day,  when  we  were  both  in  merry  mood,  I  would  resume  my 
old  character.  I  would  come  to  her  in  sailor-boy  guise.  She 
would  not  know  me,  but  would  look  carelessly  upon  me,  as 
she  had  done  to-day.  Then  I  would  say,  with  a  very  grave 
face,  "  Have  you  ever  been  at  sea,  before,  Miss  Cremorne?  " 
And  then,  how  she  would  start,  and  gaze,  and  wonder ;  and  I 
should  be  so  happy,  but  still  as  grave  as  ever.  And  she  will 
push  the  hair  off'  my  forehead,  and  cry,  "  No  !  —  it  cannot  be  ! 
—  I  won't  believe  you  !  "  till  I  can  look  grave  no  longer ;  and 
she  will  laugh,  and  throw  her  arms  round  my  neck,  and  — 
"  All  hands  ready  to  wear  ship  !  "  cries  the  mate,  close  in  my 
car.  My  balloon-bubble  burst,  and  down,  down  I  fell,  un 
happy  aeronaut,  gravitating  heavily,  miserably,  towards  this 
miserable  earth. 


CHAPTER     III. 

We  double  Cape  Horn,  and  arrive  safely  at  Callao. —  We  again  set  sail  for 
India.  —  Smiles  and  Tears.  — The  Exordium.  — Strange  Conduct  of  the 
Bear.— Its  Explanation. — The  Storm. —  The  Ship  springs  a  Leak. —  Loss 
of  the  Masts.  — The  Men  take  to  the  Boat.  —  The  unhappy  Fate  of  Mr. 
Cremorne.  — I  am  left  alone.  —  My  Reflections. —  My  joyful  Surprise. — 
"We  take  Refuge  in  the  Yawl.  — The  Ship  sinks. 

SEVERAL  months  had  passed  since  our  leaving  Salem,  and 
we  were  still  at  sea.  We  doubled  the  cape  on  the  seventeenth 
of  February,  after  trying  more  than  a  week  ;  and  in  something 
less  than  a  month  cast  anchor  in  the  port  of  Callao,  much  to 
the  disappointment  of  several  of  the  crew,  who,  for  some  rea 
son  or  other,  had  fully  made  up  their  minds  that  our  ship  was 
unlucky,  and  would  never  reach  the  end  of  her  voyage. 

At  this  place  we  had  discharged  the  greater  part  of  our 
cargo,  and  now,  with  a  favorable  breeze,  were  stretching  across 
the  broad  Pacific. 

Since  my  first  attempt  I  had  made  no  further  movement 
towards  establishing  an  acquaintance  with  Alice  Cremorne.  I 
contented  myself  with  gazing  at  her  from  a  distance,  and  with 
conjuring  up  fancied  scenes  of  happiness  similar  to  those  which 
I  have  already  described.  It  was  enough  for  me,  at  present, 
to  be  in  the  same  ship  that  contained  my  beloved  object.  I 
had  no  rival,  and  was  consequently  free  from  jealousy ;  and 
I  trusted  to  time  and  chance  to  work  a  change  in  my  favor. 
4 


38  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

Yet  it  is  not  wholly  true  that  there  was  no  intercourse 
between  us.  Every  pleasant  morning,  sometimes  before  the 
•rising  of  the  sun,  I  was  sure  to  find  my  charming  Alice  seated 
on  the  quarter-deck,  or  walking  slowly  back  and  forth  Avith 
her  grandfather  by  her  side.  As  the  sun  rose,  her  bright 
shadow  came  dancing  coquettishly  along  the  deck,  now  glancing 
on  the  rails,  now  leaning  a  moment,  as  if  to  rest,  over  the  low 
bulwarks.  I  noticed  where  it  fell,  and  hastened  to  place  my 
self  before  it.  I  saluted  it  lovingly  with  a  whispered  "  Good 
morning !  "  I  let  it  fall  upon  my  face  and  hands,  and  fancied 
it  was  Alice's  spirit  breathing  over  me. 

And  then,  in  the  evening,  I  sent  my  shadow  back  to  her, 
nnd  sought  to  make  it  clasp  her  in  its  longing  yet  shy  em 
brace.  I  wondered  whether  she  ever  noticed  it ;  and  I  some 
times  thought  that  her  countenance,  on  such  occasions,  wore 
a  very  peculiar  expression,  as  if  she  were  dimly  conscious  of 
some  strange,  mysterious  influence  then  acting  upon  her. 
But,  perhaps,  after  all,  it  was  only  the  shadow. 

I  cannot  tell  how  much  satisfaction  I  derived  from  this 
simple  source,  nor  how  much  I  was  disappointed,  when,  from 
a  cloudy  morning,  or  change  of  course,  or  any  other  cause,  I 
was  unable  to  avail  myself  of  those  spiritual  messengers. 
And  time  and  chance  would  work  yet  greater  marvels. 

Time  and  Chance  !  Time  and  Chance !  good  friends,  in 
truth,  ye  have  been  to  me  !  If  I  do  not  thank  you  as  you 
deserve,  —  but  no  matter;  I  trusted  to  them,  and  they  did 
not  deceive  me.  They  gave  me,  indeed,  far  more  than  I 
should  have  dar6d  to  ask ;  not,  perhaps,  in  the  precise  man 
ner  I  should  have  selected,  —  they  never  do,  —  but  in  such  a 
Wiiy  that  I  had  no  reason  to  complain  either  of  their  wisdom 
or  generosity. 

Before  I  go  any  further,  however,  I  must  pause  a  moment 


THE    EXORDIUM.  80 

to  enable  the  reader  to  prepare  himself  for  the  scene  that  is 
about  to  follow.  And  that  he  may  do  this  to  some  purpo.se,  I 
give  him  fair  warning  beforehand  that  I  intend  to  be.  very 
pathetic.  Though,  if  he  would  rather  have  laughter,  I  can 
furnish  that  too. 

It  is  such  a  little  way  from  smiles  to  tears  !  Which  will  \ou 
have  ?  for  I  have  both  at  command.  I  can  as  easily  laugh 
as  weep.  Only  I  do  not  like  to  do  either  long  at  a  time. 
But  we  must  have  one  or  the  other.  I  do  not  have  such  a 
chance  very  often,  and  I  am  determined  to  make  the  most  of 
it.  In  all  that  I  have  done  hitherto  I  seem  to  myself  like 
that  famous  French  cook,  or  artist,  who,  at  the  siege  of'Lcith, 
made  no  less  than  five-and-forty  different  courses  from  the 
salted  hind  quarter  of  a  hoive,  with  such  surpassing  skill 
that  the  nicest  critics  could  not  determine  the  nature  of  a  sin 
gle  dish.  Having,  as  I  flatter  myself,  succeeded  so  well 
with  such  scanty  materials,  I  long  to  show  what  I  can  do  with 
all  the  wealth  of  sea  and  land  at  my  disposal. 

But  how  is  this?  I  meant  to  make  you  cry,  and  you  will 
not  even  laugh.  But  no  matter.  If  I  am  dull,  you  must 
work  the  harder. 

•  Let  the  reader  then  gird  up  the  loins  of  his  imagination  ! 
Let  him  recall  all  the  elements  of  grandeur  and  sublimity 
with  which  I  have  supplied  him. 

Here  is  the  broad  Pacific,  so  suggestive  of  empire  and 
dominion ;  of  whales,  and  sea-serpents,  and  others,  if  there 
be  any,  still  mightier  than  they ;  of  all  that  is  lovely  and 
solitary;  all  that  is  misty  and  indefinable;  all  that  is  vast 
and  infinite. 

Here  is  the  good  ship,  The  Three  Sisters,  with  canvas  cloud 
on  cloud,  —  the  favorite  emblem,  in  all  ages,  of  strength  and 
beauty;  a  'life  the  theme  of  man's  fear  and  hardihood,  of  his 


40  THE    NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 

greatness  and  littleness,  of  his  weakness  and  supremacy ;  a 
mere  speck  amid  the  world  of  waters,  yet  riding  gloriously  as 
the  sun  in  heaven. 

And  here  is  the  captain  on  his  quarter-deck,  like  emperor 
on  his  throne ;  the  greatest  man,  for  all  we  know,  within  a 
thousand  miles.  Mark  the  conscious  dignity  of  his  deport 
ment,  the  weight  of  responsibility  which  burdens  yet  exalts 
him  ;  with  hand  curiously  balancing  his  fitting  sceptre,  the 
wondrous  glass  of  Galileo. 

And  there  is  the  man  at  the  wheel,  with  one  eye  on  the 
bow  and  the  other  on  that  slender  needle  governed  by  a  finer 
instinct  than  that  which  guides  the  swarthy  savage  through 
the  pathless  wilds  of  an  American  forest. 

And  here,  at  the  foot  of  the  mainmast,  sits  on  his  haunches 
the  meditative  bear,  too  uneasy,  from  some  mysterious  cause, 
to  lie,  as  usual,  prone  upon  his  belly,  yet  lulled  by  the  lazy 
rattle  of  his  chain,  and  the  low  murmur  of  the  waves,  till  he 
nods  like  an  old  grandam  dreaming  in  the  chimney-corner 
over  her  early  loves. 

And  there  are  his  master  and  my  mistress,  old  Mr.  Cre- 
morne  and  the  charming  Alice,  at  the  two  extremes  of  life ; 
retrospection  and  anticipation  hand  in  hand.  How  she  smiles 
upon  the  good  old  man !  Her  smiles  fall  with  reflected  light 
on  me. 

Ah,  my  Alice !  never  did  you  look  to  me  more  lovely  !  It 
was  your  gentle  helplessness  that  gave  such  might  and  majesty 
to  the  ocean.  It  was  the  consciousness  of  that  precious 
freight  that  made  our  noble  ship  quiver  so ;  that  so  oppressed 
the  captain  with  added  responsibility;  that  quickened  the 
eye  and  nerved  the  arm  of  the  man  at  the  wheel,  and  that 
so  disturbed  the  slumbers  of  our  philosophic  bear. 

I  loved  even  him  for  her  sake.     It  was  for  her  sake  that  I 


STRANGE   CONDUCT    OF    THE    BEAR.  41 

smiled  so  tenderly  upon  him,  told  him  to  lie  down,  and  gave 
him  half  my  dinner.  It  was  with  some  misgiving  that  I  did 
it,  for  his  temper  was  far  from  good,  and  his  claws  were 
sharp  ;  nor  had  I  any  particular  reason  for  supposing  that  it 
would  give  her  pleasure  ;  but  in  some  way  or  other  I  always 
found  that  when  I  felt  kindly  towards  her,  I  felt  kindly 
towards  everything  else. 

So,  as  I  could  not  share  my  dinner  with  her,  I  did  the  next 
best  thing  in  my  power,  and  shared  it  with  the  bear.  And, 
as  I  did  so,  I  began  to  love  him  more  than  I  ever  loved  :i 
bear  before  in  my  life.  In  fact,  for  fear  lest  he  should  per 
ceive  it,  I  did  my  best  to  assume  a  cold  and  distant  air,  juM, 
the  same  as  if  he  had  been  a  man  ;  looking  him  all  the  time  as 
steadily  in  the  face  as  I  could,  and  exclaiming,  as  I  winked 
away  a  tear,  "  I  wish  the  sun  would  n't  shine  so  bright !  it 
has  almost  put  my  eyes  out !  " 

]3ut — why  I  could  not  imagine  —  my  bear  refused  to  cat. 
He  simply  smelied  the  food,  then  raised  his  head,  whined  and 
moaned,  and  uneasily  snuffed  the  air.  His  usual  fierceness 
seemed  suddenly  to  have  deserted  him.  Could  it  be  that  ho 
was  by  some  mysterious  sympathy  aware  of  my  feelings,  and 
wished  thus  to  signify  his  delicate  appreciation  of  them?  I 
would  gladly  have  believed  it,  but  it  was  too  much  to  expect 
from  a  bear,  a  bear  too  who  had  never  thus  far  manifested  the 
slightest  sensibility. 

1  must  seek  some  other  solution  of  his  conduct.  I  remem 
bered  having  read  that  the  lower  animals  were  often  enabled 
to  give  warning  of  some  threatening  convulsion  of  nature  long 
before  its  approach  could  be  detected  by  human  intelligence. 

On  looking  around  me,  however,  I  could  discover  no  indi 
cation  of  any  change  in  the  weather.  The  sails  were  filled 
with  a  gentle  but  steady  breeze.  The  sky  was  without  a  cloud, 
4* 


THE    NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 


and  the  sun,  who,  from  his  elevated  eyrie,  might  be  supposed 
to  see   all  that  was  going  on  below,  looked  down  with  u 

'"still  I  wis  not  satisfied.     The  bear  had  come  all  the  way 
from  the  Rocky  Mountains;  he  had  seen  a  great  deal  of  the 
world,  and,  though  age  had  not  yet  matured  Ins  judgment 
Tits  of  out-door  life  could  hardly  have  failed  to  strengthen 
his  perceptive  powers  to  a  very  high  degree. 

Lin  I  looked  around  me.     The  wind  was  dy.ng  away, 

•"•&  .,    „  -1    •    „*  A!,/*  i.,.icf  hi» 


n         oo  . 

and  now  and  then  the  mainsail  flapped  against  the  mast      Ih 
sky  was  still  clear,  but  far  in  the  north-east  a  cloud  no  b.ggc 
ol  a  man's  hand  lay  apparently  becalmed  ,n  the  homo,,. 
As  I  looked,  it  seemed  perceptibly  to  enlarge,  and  to    e  con, 
in,  up  heavily  against  the  wind.    I  pointed  it  out  to  one  of  my 

WpLes  in  the  hearing  of  the  captain,  but  without  hinting 
my  suspicions  ;  for  I  was  afraid  of  dUurbmg  h,s  jealousy   i 

it  appeared  .hat  the  bear  and  I  had  been  first  to  d.scover  the 


Siain  Bridges  scanned  the  A,  attentively  a  while,  and 
then  descended  into  the  cabin,  to  consult,  as  I  supposed,  tt 
barometer,  though  in  my  opinion  the  one  on  deck  was,  tc 
the  least,  quite  as  reliable.     The  next  moment  he  reappeared, 
and  hurrie!.,y  gave  orders  to  take  in  saib    When  after  o»£ 
!„„  to  execute  this  order,  I  again  descended  to  the  deck    t 
change  that  had  taken  place  in  so  short  a  time  was  start 
and  tremendous.  , 

The  little  cloud,  like  the  head  of  an  advancing  co  umn,  had 
rapidly  spread  itself  out,  till  its  heavy  masses  filled  the  sky 
further  than  the  eye  eould  reach  ;  we  could  almost  hear  their 
measured  tramp,  as  they  swept  onward  to  the  charge,  .mid 
the  far-off  music  of  ten  thousand  bands.  It  needed  no  force 


THE    STORM. 


43 


of  imagination  to  feel  that  a  single  will  pervaded  the  mighty 
host,  and  directed  the  order  of  battle. 

The  sublimity  of  the  sight  left  no  room  for  fear.  I  was 
rather  proud  of  being  permitted  to  witness  such  an  exhibition 
of  almighty  power.  I  exulted  in  the  thought  that  such  a 
spectacle  should,  have  been  provided  for  my  entertainment ; 
and  almost  wished  that  I  had  been  entirely  alone,  that  I 
might  have  had  it  all  to  myself.  Yet,  soberly  considered, 
there  was  enough  for  us  all  and  to  spare.  The  whole  universe 
might  then  have  filled  their  hearts.  Never  sigain,  till  the 
last  day,  do  I  expect  to  behold  so  many  elements  of  wonder 
and  awe. 

For  thirty-six  hours  we  fled  before  the  gale.  In  that 
time  the  wind  had  shifted  through  more  than  three  {quarters 
of  a  circle.  Before  the  commencement  of  the  tempest  we  were 
sailing  west  north-west,  close-hauled  upon  the  starboard  tack. 
The  next  morning  we  were  scudding  under  bare  poles  directly 
towards  the  western  coast  of  South  America  ;  and  at  mid 
night,  if  we  held  our  course,  we  had  a  reasonable  prospect  of 
making  the  South  Pole. 

But  when  the  second  morning  dawned  we  found,  on  sound 
ing  the  pumps,  that  we  were  making  water  much  faster  than 
we  were  making  port.  There  were  already  four  feet  of  water 
in  the  hold,  and  the  leak  was  gaining  on  us  every  minute. 
Owing,  no  doubt,  to  the  want  of  canvas  to  steady  the  ship,  she 
rolled  her  lower  yards  under  at  almost  every  dip,  and  it  was 
with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  we  were  able  to  maintain  our 
footing. 

Yet,  in  spite  of  every  discouragement,  we  contrived  to  rig 
both  the  pumps,  and  for  three  hours  we  labored  without 
intermission  till  we  were  compelled  to  pause  from  sheer 
exhaustion. 


44  TUB    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

Then,  wo    sounded  again,    and   found  that    the  leak  had 
opined  just  one  inch.     So,  at  any  rate,  the  mate  reported, 
though  I  do  not  suppose  that  he  could  really  have  detecte 
slight  a  difference. 

A  shy,  cowardly,  contemptible  leak  !  Not  coming  upon  us 
boldly  and  honorably,  like  a  man,  but  creeping  stealthily  upoi 
its  victim  like  a  tiger  upon  its  prey. 

A  cruel,  bloodthirsty,  unmerciful  leak  !  Not  despatching 
us  at  a  blow,  but  playing  with  us  as  a  cat  with  a  mouse,  and 
mocking  us  with  vain  hopes  of  escape. 

Finding  it  impossible  to  get  the  leak  under  in  this  way, 
Captain  Bridges  very  reluctantly  gave  orders  to  lighten 
ship  by  throwing  overboard  a  portion  of  the  cargo,  and  finally 
to  cut  away  the  masts.     He  would  probably  have  made  up 
his  mind  somewhat  sooner  on  this  latter  point,  but  the  HUE 
were  new,  and  he  was  very  much  attached  to  them,  especially 
the  mainmast,  which  I  had  often  heard  him  declare  to  be  just 
about  the  prettiest  bit  of  timber  he  had  ever  seen. 

Twice  he  raised  the  fatal  axe,  and  twice  let  it  fall  again,  - 
a  very  pretty  piece  of  sensibility,  it  seemed  to  me,  in  a  pirate  ; 
till  at  last,  the  second  mate,  a  coarse,  brutal  fellow,  with  no 
more  sentiment  than  an  undertaker,  snatched  the  axe  from  his 
hand,  and  was  about  to  strike,  when  the  ship  gave  a  tremen 
dous  lurch  to  leeward,  and  with  a' fearful  crash  the  foremast 
with  all  its  hamper  went  over  the  side.     The  maintopmast 
followed,   and  in  its  fall  carried  away  the  mizzen,  but 
mainmast  itself  still  stood  as  firm  as  ever. 

The  ship  now  rode  more  easily,  and,  with  renewed  hope,  we 
again  addressed  ourselves  to  the  pumps;  but  in  two  hours 
the  leak  had  gained  six  inches,  and  it  was  evident  to  all  on 
board  that  our  only  chance  of  safety  was  in  the  boats.   ^ 
gale  had  for  some  time  abated,  and  the  sea,  as  if  sati 


UNHAPPY    FATE    OF    MR.    CKEM011NE. 

with  what  it  had  done,  or  ashamed  of  having  thus  got  into  a 
passion  for  nothing,  seemed  disposed  to  get  over  it  as  soon  as 
possible. 

By  means  of  a  purchase  attached  to  the  mainmast  the  long 
bout  was  hoisted  out,  and  hastily  stored  with  water  and  pro 
visions.  The  men  descended,  and  took  their  seats  in  silence. 
I  alone  remained  beside  the  captain  to  assist  the  charming 
Alice  and  her  aged  grandfather. 

Mr.  Cremorne  went  first,  and  was  all  ready  to  drop  himself 
into  the  boat,  when  it  slid  from  beneath  him,  and  he  fell  into 
the  sea. 

"  The  -waves  hurried  him  away  ; 
His  white  hair  mingled  with  the  foam." 

We  heard  his  feeble  cry,  once  —  twice  — no,  it  was  only 
the  waves  hissing  against  the  ship. 

Alice  stood  still,  and  gazed  at  the  spot  where  she  had  seen 
him  last.  The  men  below  called  to  us  impatiently  to  descend. 
The  second  mate  swore  that  he  would  not  hold  in  much 
longer  for  any  man  or  woman  either  that  ever  lived.  Mutter 
ing  an  imprecation  against  his  brutality  between  my  set  teeth, 
I  caught  the  sinking  form  of  Alice  in  my  arms,  and  bore  her 
towards  the  boat. 

But  my  foot  slipped  on  the  wet  and  treacherous  deck.  I 
fell,  and,  striking  my  head  violently  against  the  bulwarks,  lay 
there  without  sense  or  motion. 

How  long  I  remained  in  this  condition  I  cannot  tell.  My 
consciousness  returned  but  slowly.  When  I  recovered  strength 
to  open  my  eyes  and  look  about  me,  I  seemed  like  one  awaking 
from  a  confused  and  frightful  dream.  With  a  painful  effort 
I  joined  my  broken  thoughts  together.  I  recalled  the  sun 
shine  and  the  storm  that  followed.  The  weary  working  at  the 


4(3  T1IE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

pumps  — the  launching  of  the  long-boat,  and  the  bitterness 

of  death. 

The  silence  and  desertion  that  reigned  around  appalled  me. 
My  mean  and  cowardly  messmates  had  left  me  alone  to  die. 
Even  Tom  Harris,  who  I  thought  really  loved  me,  cared  more 
for  his  life  than  his  affection.  And  a  dearer  than  he,  my  be 
loved  Alice,  for  whose  sake  I  had  exposed  myself  to  this 
calamity,  she  too  had  deserted  me. 

"  It  is  well !  "  I  said.  "  0  yes  !  and  I  am  glad  of  it !  I  hoped 
it  would  be  so !  I  would  not  have  had  it  otherwise.  It  is  a 
fitting  return  for  my  love.  Of  course  she  would  leave  me. 
What  am  I  to  her?— a  poor  miserable  sailor,  like  me,  and 
she  so  beautiful !  But  I  will  never  rise  from  this  deck.  I  will 
never  open  my  eyes  again.  I  will  die  here,  where  I  have 
fallen,  for  her  sake.  This  ship  shall  be  my  coffin.  What 
have  I  to  live  for  now?  Let  her  go  and  be  happy !  She  is 
talking  and  laughing  now,  I  dare  say;  laughing  at  my  clum 
siness.  If  an  angel  should  come  now  to  save  me,  I  would 
not  be  saved." 

I  buried  my  face  in  my  hands,  and  closed  my  eyes  for  the 
last  time  on  earth  ;  while  I  waited  with  a  sort  of  nervous 
apathy  the  final  plunge. 

A  soft  touch  aroused  me ;  a  hand  softer  than  a  man's  held 
my  waist.  A  warm  living  breath  was  on  my  cheek.  From 
the  position  in  which  I  lay  I  could  not  see  her  face,  but,  peep 
ing  through  my  closed  fingers,  I  saw  the  dress  of  my  beloved 
Alice,  and  one  fair  hand  on  which  she  leaned. 

0  joy !  I  longed  to  start  up,  to  fold  her  in  my  embrace. 
One  kiss!  one  only!  a  whole  eternity  of  bliss!  and  then 
down  together  into  the  depths. 

But  no,  I  would  play  a  little  with  my  happiness.  I  lay 
quite  still,  and  pretended  to  be  dead.  Who  would  not,  to  be 


JOYFUL    SURPRISE.  47 

so  brought  to  life  ?  She  attempted  gently  to  draw  my  hand 
to  her.  My  traitor  hand  could  not  resist  that  gentle  violence. 
And  now  she  held  it  in  both  her  own.  Do  what  I  would,  I 
could  not  help  returning  that  soft  pressure.  I  sighed,  and 
she  echoed  back  my  sigh.  I  opened  my  eyes  languidly,  and, 
turning  my  head,  looked  dreamily  upon  her,  like  a  new-born 
soul  in  paradise  upon  the  awakening  angel.  Shall  I,  when  I 
wake  in  paradise,  be  any  happier  than  I  was  then  ? 

"  Ah !  "  she  whispered,  "  I  was  afraid  that  you  were  dead." 
"Afraid!"  I  repeated,  "  and  why  should  you  be  afraid? 
What  difference  could  it  make  to  you  ?  "  and,  as  I  spoke,  my 
whole  soul  flew  into  my  eyes. 

She  blushed  and  hesitated,  and  then  replied,  smiling 
through  her  tears,  "  You  know  you  tried  to  save  me  when  my 
—  but  are  you  very  badly  hurt?  Does  your  head  pain 
you  ?  " 

"  0,  no,"  I  cried,  "  I  feel  no  pain  now.  But  you  —  how 
came  you  here  ?  I  thought  you  were  gone  with  the  rest. 
And  they  have  left  you  alone ;  but  no  matter,  I  will  save 
you  yet." 

As  I  said  this,  I  rose  and  looked  around  me.  To  my  sur 
prise,  I  found  that  the  sun  had  been  some  time  set,  but  the 
full  moon  poured  her  cold  light  over  the  cold  waters,  lighting 
up  all  around  with  that  strange,  unearthly  radiance.  It 
shone  upon  Alice,  and  gave  her  a  yet  more  spiritual  beauty ; 

upon  the  bear,  chained  to  the  mainmast,  and  he  seemed  still 

more  uncouth  and  grotesque;  —  on  the  lazy,  heaving  sea,  and 
its  changing  lights  and  shadows  were  brighter  and  darker  than 
before. 

But  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost.  The  ship  had  settled 
nearly  to  the  level  of  her  upper  deck,  and  at  any  moment 


48  THE    NEW    AGE   OF   GOLD. 

might  sink  beneath  us.      The  long-boat  was  gone,  but  the 
yawl  still  remained,  lashed  firmly  to  the  quarter-deck. 

Hastily  casting  off  the  lashings,  I  threw  into  it  a  bag  of 
biscuit  and  a  small  cask  of  water,  that  the  men  in  their  hurry 
had  forgotten.  With  the  axe,  which  the  mate  had  dropped, 
I  cleared  away  any  ropes  that  might  endanger  our  safety,  and 
then,  with  Alice  sitting  passively  by  my  side,  I  took  my 
place  in  the  boat,  and  waited  anxiously  for  the  event. 

It  was  not  long  in  coming.  Our  noble  ship  sank  quietly  and 
without  a  struggle.  She  sank  from  beneath  us,  and  left  us 
there,  as  the  mother  eagle  leaves  her  fledglings  in  mid-heaven 
to  test  their  untried  pinions.  A  momentary  ripple  marked 
the  spot  where  she  had  disappeared  ;  but  the  vast  Pacific 
at  once  filled  up  the  gap,  and  nothing  but  a  few  floating 
fragments  of  the  wreck  remained  to  show  that  such  a  ship 
as  the  Three  Sisters  had  ever  been. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Voyage  in  the  Boat.— Narrow  Escape  of  ihe  Bear.  —  My  Perplexity  on 
his  Account— I  determine  to  steer  towards  the  North-west.— My  Feel 
ings  in  regard  to  Alice.  —  State  of  our  Provisions.  —  Philosophizing.— 
Our  first  Breakfast.  — Making  a  6up.  —Horrors  of  our  Situation.— 
A  lice's  Fortitude.— Our  Quarrel  and  Reconciliation. —  I  tell  her  my 
Story.  —  Sweet  and  bitter  Recollections. 

THUS  suddenly  we  found  ourselves  left  in  the  midst  of  the 
ocean,  afloat  in  that  cockle-shell  of  a  boat,  now  rising  on  the 
crest  of  a  wave,  now  lost  in  the  hollow;  hardly  knowing 
whether  to  rejoice  at  our  escape,  or  to  regret  that  we  had  not 
perished  with  the  ship.  In  that  case  our  death  would  have 
been  easy;  but  now,  for  what  lingering  torments  were  we 
reserved  ? 

But,  all  this  time,  I  have  forgotten  the  bear.  I  had  boon 
too  busy,  hitherto,  to  pay  much  attention  to  his  movements, 
but,  after  taking  my  place  in  the  boat,  I  suddenly  remembered 
his  pitiable  condition.  I  would  have  given  him  his  liberty ; 
but  I  feared  to  leave  the  boat  even  for  an  instant,  and  I  con 
sidered,  too,  that  such  misplaced  kindness  would  only  prolong 
his  sufferings ;  so  I  very  reluctantly,  and  with  a  feeling  of  self- 
reproach,  determined  to  leave  him  to  his  fate. 

But  my  bear,  had  no  thought  of  dying  so  easily.     He  evi 
dently  saw  that  we  were  about  to  leaye  him,  and  manifested, 
in  every  way,  his  desire  to  bear  us  company.    Again  and  again 
5 


THE    NEW    AGE    OF    UOLD. 


lie  essayed  to  break  his  chain.  He  whined  and  moaned  so 
pitifully  that  the  gentle  Alice  could  not  bear  the  sound;  and 
even  I,  insensible  and  hard-hearted  as  I  was,  felt  myself 

strangely  moved. 

At  length  the  water  washed  the  place  where  he  was  stand 
ing,  the  ship  settled  rapidly,  and  the  next  moment  I  expected 
to°see  him  swallowed  up  ;  when,  with  a  final  effort,  rising  on 
his  hind  legs,  and  grasping  the  chain  with  his  powerful  paws, 
the  links  parted,  and  he  fell  over  backwards  into  the  water. 
He  rose  again  directly,  however,  and  swam  vigorously  towards 

the  boat. 

Here  was  a  new  difficulty.  If  he  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
boat,  what  security  should  we  have  for  his  good  behavior? 
Would  his  sense  of  gratitude  be  sufficiently  strong  to  over 
come  his  appetite?  Would  a  feeling  of  mutual  dependence 
teach  him  to  restrain,  for  a  time,  his  natural  bearish  propen 
sities  ?  Or  would  he,  without  even  the  ceremony  of  casting 
lots,  decide  to  save  his  own  life,  if  possible,  at  the  expense  of 
his  fellow-passengers? 

I  tried  in  vain  to  settle  these  questions  satisfactorily  to  my 
own  mind.  In  all  my  reading,  I  had  never  met  with  a  case 
precisely  in  point.  What  was  the  precise  degree  of  honor 
and  generosity  in  a  bear,  and  how  far  those  qualities  might 
be  modified  by  such  peculiar  circumstances,  had  never,  so  far 
as  I  could  remember,  engaged  the  attention  of  any  philoso 
pher.  If  he  had  been  a  man,  I  could  have  made  up  my  mind 
sit  once.  I  knew  full  well  that  man's  natural  selfishness  never 
showed  itself  so  decidedly,  nor  in  so  monstrous  a  shape,  as  in 
the  very  situation  in  which  we  were  placed. 

And  what  right  had  I  to  expect  more  from  a  bear  than 
from  a  man  ?  Influenced  by  these  considerations,  I  seized  the 
axe,  and  stationing  myself  in  the  bows  of  the  boat,  prepared 


I 
NARROW    ESCAPE    OF    THE   BEAR.  51 


to  chop  off  his  unhappy  paws  the  moment  he  should  succeed 
in  getting  them  over  the  gunwale.  Bears'  paws  are  said  to 
be  extremely  nourishing,  and  I  already  fancied  my  charming 
Alice  looking  wistfully  upon  that  dainty  morsel.  What 
were  ten  thousand  bcaa*s  to  a  life  like  hers?  And  I  grasped 
the  axe  more  fiercely  than  ever. 

But,  as  the  bear  approached,  he  looked  at  me  so  implor 
ingly,  and  I  had  him  at  such  an  overwhelming  disadvantage, 
that  my  heart  reproached  me  for  the  meanness  I  had  intended. 
1  determined  to  banish  all  such  selfish  considerations,  and  to 
give  the  poor  fellow  the  same  chance  of  safety  that  I  had  my 
self. 

I  dropped  the  axe,  and,  taking  him  by  the  collar,  succeeded, 
with  no  little  difficulty,  in  helping  him  into  the  boat.  With 
out  my  assistance,  he  might  have  tried  in  vain ;  and  I 
could  not  help  hoping  that  he  would  have  magnanimity 
enough  to  appreciate  the  obligation.  He  seemed,  indeed, 
sufficiently  grateful,  and,  first  shaking  himself,  to  clear  the 
water  from  his  shaggy  coat,  he  sat  down,  like  a  well-behaved 
bear,  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  and,  laying  his  head  on  my 
knee,  looked  up  earnestly  in  my  face  with  an  expression  of 
far  greater  sympathy  and  intelligence  than  I  had  supposed  a 
bear  was  capable  of  conveying. 

Then  he  looked  at  Alice,  and  I  thought  I  detected  a  softer 
shade  steal  over  his  rude  but  honest  features,  and  I  blessed 
him  in  my  heart  for  a  sensible,  good-hearted  bear. 

I  gave  him  a  bit  of  biscuit,  which  he  munched  with  great 
apparent  relish,  and  then,  laying  his  head  between  his  paws, 
he  coiled  himself  into  as  small  a  compass  as  possible,  as  if  he 
had  resigned  all  responsibility,  and  was  soon  fast  asleep.  I 
could  not  help  noticing  this  with  approbation ;  for  it  seemed 
to  show  that  he  was  above  all  base  and  unworthy  suspicions, 


52  THE    NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 

and  confided  in  my  honor ;  and  I  resolved  in  my  own  mind 
never  to  give  him  cause  to  regret  his  misplaced  confidence. 
Alice  said  nothing,  but  I  nattered  myself  that  she  did  not 
disapprove  my  conduct. 

Having  thus  settled  this  matter  to  our  mutual  satisfaction, 
the  next  question  was  to  determine  the  direction  of  the  nearest 
land.  About  this  I  knew  very  little.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  gale  we  were,  by  the  captain's  reckoning,  not  far  from 
fifteen  hundred  miles  south-west  of  the  Sandwich  Islands. 
Since  then  we  had  been  driven  about  so  much  that  we  had 
lost  all  knowledge  of  our  position.  I  knew,  indeed,  that  those 
islands  must  still  lie  nearly  in  the  same  direction ;  but  we  were 
not  provisioned  for  so  long  a  voyage,  and  I  concluded,  on  the 
whole,  that  my  best  plan  would  be  to  steer  towards  the  north 
west,  hoping  to  be  picked  up  by  a  passing  merchantman,  or  to 
reach  some  one  of  the  many  islands  that  stud  that  portion  of 
the  Pacific.  This,  I  remembered,  was  also  the  course  which 
Captain  Bridges  had  signified  his  intention  to  take,  before 
leaving  the  ship. 

The  boat  was  rigged  with  a  fore-and-aft  sail,  with  a  small, 
bright  patch  just  about  the  centre.  I  cannot  help  mentioning 
this  trifling  circumstance,  because,  during  the  many  weary 
days  that  we  were  at  sea,  this  patch  was  almost  constantly 
before  my  eyes,  and  even  now,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  I  can 
see  it  more  plainly  than  anything  else.  A  few  days  ago,  I 
happened  to  notice,  in  the  harbor  of  New  York,  not  far  from 
pier  No.  4,  in  the  North  lliver,  a  small  sail-boat  with  a 
patch  almost  precisely  similar,  and  it  at  once  brought  the 
whole  scene  so  vividly  before  my  mind,  that  I  had  much  ado 
to  keep  back  my  tears. 

There  was  also  a  rudder  belonging  to  the  boat,  but  when  I 
came  to  look  fur  it,  I  could  find  only  the  tiller.  I  tried  for  a 


MY    FEELINGS   IN    REGARD    TO    ALICE.  53 

while  to  steer  with  this,  but  soon  gave  it  up,  finding  it  of  no 
more  service  than  a  handle  without  a  teapot,  an  eye  without  a 
needle,  or  a  pipe  without  a  bowl. 

However,  I  made  shift  to  steer  with  an  oar,  and,  turning 
the  boat's  head  as  nearly  as  I  could  judge  towards  the  north 
west,  I  made  sail,  with  the  wind  well  upon  my  larboard  quar 
ter.  This  brought  the  moon  almost  directly  in  our  faces. 

That  I  might  steer  with  greater  ease,  I  took  my  station  at 
gome  distance  from  the  stern;  the  charming  Alice  sat  oppo 
site,  and  I  could  not  help  now  and  then  stealing  a  glance  at 
her  averted  countenance. 

Up  to  this  time  I  bad  never  found  her  otherwise  than  per 
fectly  beautiful ;  but  now,  as,  by  the  pale  light  of  the  moon, 
I  studied  her  lovely  profile,  I  noticed,  as  I  thought,  rather  too 
great  a  prominence  in  her  chin.  This  defect,  however,  if  such 
it  could  be  called,  so  far  from  causing  me  any  uneasiness, 
rather  increased  my  satisfaction ;  and,  in  fact,  it  seemed  to 
me  then  as  if  I  loved  her  more  on  that  account  than  for  all 
her  other  charms  beside. 

I  see  it  now,  her  low,  sad  brow,  that  rested  on  her  little 
hand  ;  her  drooping  lids ;  her  lips  just  parted  by  that  last 
low  sigh. 

I  longed  to  comfort  her,  but  I  knew  not  how.  In  her  pres 
ent  mood,  indeed,  I  saw  that  it  would  be  useless  to  address 
her.  Not  that  I  supposed  her  sufferings  to  be  so  intense.  The 
hand  may  be  dipped  without  harm  in  molten  iron ;  and  the 
soul,  plunged  in  such  a  fiery  bath  as  hers,  seems  often  guarded 
by  a  like  merciful  provision.  But  to-morrow  I  feared  she 
would  feel  it  more.  For  sorrow  benumbs  like  frost.  It  is 
not  the  cold  that  stings  us,  it  is  the  returning  warmth. 

And  was  I  really  sitting  so  near  her?  Was  that  her  little 
foot  that  almost  touched  my  own  ?  Was  t  now  her  only  pro- 
5* 


54  TIEE   NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 

lector  ?  Had  fortune  really  been  so  kind  ?  A  strange,  uneasy 
joy  took  possession  of  my  soul.  I  could  not  sit  still  in  my 

>0  But,  after  all,  what  good  did  it  do  ?  She  did  not  know 
that  I  loved  her  ;  nor  could  I  dare  to  tell  her.  The  interval 
was  too  great  between  us.  I  was  hardly  more  to  her  than  a 

total  stranger. 

Yet  she  must  have  sympathy.  She  could  not  live  without 
it.  She  must  have  some  one  to  talk  to  about  her  grandfather  ; 
some  one  to  take  his  place ;  some  one  that  she  could  love  and 
cling  to.  Now  she  hardly  dared  to  cry,  for  fear  I  might  be 
looking  at  her. 

Her  situation  was,  indeed,   singularly  painful.      It  won 
have  been  bad   enough  if  we  had  known  each  other  all  our 
lives  ;    but,  as  it  was,—  ah  !   how  I  longed  to  tell  her  all  that 
was  in  my  heart,  that  she   might  banish  all  her  fears,  and 
throw  herself  unreservedly  upon  my  honor  and  affection. 

But  I  cannot  tell  the  half  nor  the  quarter  of  the  sad  yet 
pleasant  fancies  that  chased  each  other  through  my  brain  on 
that  strange,  eventful  night,  I  have  been  happy  since,—  yes, 
happier  than  I  was  then,  — yet,  not  for  worlds  would  I  part 
with  that  experience.  Nothing  else  that  I  have  ever  known 
could  perfectly  supply  its  place.  It  stands  forth  distinct,  with 
a  character  and  impressions  of  its  own ;  and  often  now,  when 
brighter  scenes  have  failed  to  satisfy  my  soul,  I  turn  to  that 
comparatively  dark  and  sombre  recollection  with  such  a  serene 
and  tender  melancholy  as  leaves  me  nothing  to  desire. 

I  now  counted  the  biscuit  in  the  bag,  and  found  that  there 
were  just  .thirty-seven  and  a  half.  I  do  not  know  why  I 
remember  this  so  well,  unless  because  it  became  associated  in 
my  mind  with  « two-and-threcpence,"  which,  as  all  my  New 
England  readers  are  already  aware,  is  just  thirty-seven  and  a 


STATE    OF    OUll    PROVISIONS.  55 

half  cents.  At  one  apiece  a  day,  this  would  last  us  more  than 
a  week,  and  in  that  time,  if  fair  weather  continued,  I  had 
little  doubt  that  we  should  be  delivered  from  our  present  un 
comfortable  position. 

I  next  turned  to  the  keg  that  contained  our  water.  It 
would  hold,  at  least,  three  gallons,  and,  at  one  pint  a  day, 
which  I  thought  might  be  sufficient,  would  last  eight  days. 
But,  when  I  came  to  look,  I  found,  to  my  inexpressible  con 
sternation,  that  it  was  not  nearly  half  full !  To  satisfy  my- 
self  more  perfectly,  I  took  a  long  sliver  from  the  oar,  and, 
having  first  dried  it  on  my  sleeve,  inserted  it  carefully  into 
the  bung-hole.  When  I  took  it  out,  it  was  not  wet  more 
than  four  inches,  or  just  the  length  of  my  fore-finger.  I 
sucked  it  dry,  for  we  could  not  afford  to  lose  even  so  little,  and 
then  threw  it  angrily  awny.  It  hit  the  bear  on  the  nose,  ;md 
waked  him  from  his  slumbers.  He  started  up  with  an  angry 
growl,  but,  having  looked  about  him  and  seen  where  he  was, 
he  gazed  at  us  with  a  sort  of  smile,  and  lay  down  a^ain. 

"  Happy  bear  !  "  I  said,  «  you  have  no  responsibility.  You 
can  sleep  in  quiet,  undisturbed  by  fears  of  the  future  ;  while 
I  must  wake,  and  watch,  and  rack  my  brain  for  means  to  avert 
an  evil  that,  after  all,  cannot  be  averted." 

Then  suddenly  the  thought  flashed  across  my  mind,  "  Suppose 
I  should  kill  him  as  he  lies  ?  His  flesh  would  last  us  many 
days;  and,  as  for  his  blood,  I  feel  now  as  if  I  could  drink  it 
all.  I  can  do  it  without  danger,  for  he  is  sound  asleep,  and  a 
single  blow  of  the  axe  will  end  the  matter."  "No,"  I  said, 
"  never  !  never  !  "  and  I  shook  my  head  to  confirm  my  resolu 
tion. 

Alice  noticed,  and  knew  not  what  to  make  of  my  conduct. 
I  saw  that  she  had,  for  the  moment,  forgotten  her  recent 
bereavement,  and  was  busy  with  other  subjects  of  contempla- 


56  THE   NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 

tion.  At  such  times,  the  mind  is  always  ready  to  surrender 
itself  passively  to  new  trains  of  thought  and  emotion,  and 
often  of  the  most  trivial  description.  In  the  lowest  depths  of 
grief,  I  have  suddenly  found  myself  studying,  with  an  interest 
altogether  unaccountable,  the  pattern  of  the  paper  on  the  wall, 
or  the  figures  of  the  carpet,  or  counting  the  flies  in  the  win 
dow,  or  dissecting,  with  the  subtlest  analysis,  the  character  of 
a  friend.  I  have  been  often  ashamed,  indeed,  of  the  many 
trifling  fancies  that  intrude  themselves  on  those  sacred  hours, 
and  thus,  like  careless  spectators  at  a  funeral,  profane  the 
awful  ceremonial  with  their  vain  and  idle  presence. 

Thus,  while  Alice  forgot  her  grief  to  think  of  she  knew  not 
what,  I  forgot  my  cares  to  wonder  of  what  she  was  thinking. 
But  my  thoughts,  as  usual,  moving  in  a  circle,  soon  brought 
me  back  to  the  point  from  which  I  started. 

«  Shall  I  kill  the  bear  ?  No,  no  !  "  and  I  shook  my  head 
harder  than  ever.  But,  though  I  thus  drove  the  idea  from 
my  mind,  I  still  allowed  it  to  linger  about  the  door,  as  one 
will  coquet  with  a  sin  he  has  no  thought  of  committing,  or 
as  a  dog  will  smell  of  a  joint  he  does  not  mean  to  taste.  At 
any  rate,  I  would  wait,  and  then,  if  worst  came  to  the  worst, 
if  one  must  die  for  the  good  of  the  rest,  it  would  be  time 
enough  to  think  which  it  should  be. 

As  soon  as  the  sun  was  up  I  took  one  of  the  biscuits  out 
of  the  bag,,  and,  breaking  it  into  three  pieces,  gave  the  larg 
est  to  Alice,  the  next  largest  to  myself,  and  the  smallest  to 
the  bear.  I  hope  the  reader  will  not  think  me  selfish;  but  I 
thought,  as  the  bear  had  no  work  to  do,  he  did  not  need  as 
much  as  I  did. 

When  I  had  eaten  mine  I  was  as  hungry  as  ever ;  and,  as 
for  the  bear,  he  looked  as  if  he  could  eat  all  there  was  in  the 
bag ;  but  Alice  said  she  had  had  enough,  and  I  could  not 


MAKING    A    CUP.  57 

think  of  eating  more  than  she  did.  So  I  put  the  bag  back, 
under  the  seat,  out  of  reach  of  the  bear,  for  he  was  too  much 
of  a  child  to  be  trusted,  and  then  tied  my  handkerchief  as 
tight  as  possible  round  my  waist  to  make  my  stomach  think  it 
was  full. 

My  next  thought  was  of  something  to  drink.  I  gave  the 
oar  to  Alice,  and  showed  her  how  to  steer,  while  I  lifted  the 
precious  keg  upon  one  of  the  seats,  and  drew  out  the  bung. 
But  what  were  we  to  drink  out  of?  There  was  neither  a  cup, 
nor  a  dipper,  nor  a  shell,  nor  anything  else  in  the  bout  that 
would  hold  water,  except  the  slippers  that  Alice  had  on  her 
dainty  feet.  My  boots  were  full  of  holes.  We  could  not 
drink  out  of  the  bung,  for  it  was  a  very  wasteful  method  ;  we 
could  not  tell  how  much  each  one  took,  and  I  did  not  see  how 
the  bear  could  manage  in  that  way  to  drink  at  all.  There  was 
no  sort  of  probability  that  he  had  ever  drunk  out  of  a  bung- 
hole  in  his  life ;  and,  though  I  should  not  have  despaired  of 
teaching  him,  if  water  had  been  more  plenty,  it  seemed  now 
altogether  too  late  to  begin. 

I  felt  in  all  my  pockets,  one  after  another,  at  least  half  a 
dozen  times,  in  the  vain  hope  of  finding  something  that  might 
answer  the  purpose  ;  but  there  was  nothing  there  except  a 
jackknife  and  a  piece  of  beeswax  I  had  used  a  few  days  before, 
when  mending  a  hole  in  my  trousers. 

At  first  I  could  think  of  no  way  in  which  either  of  these 
articles  could  serve  me.  But,  as  I  turned  them  over  in  my 
hand  for  the  twentieth  time,  a  plan  occurred  to  me,  so  simple 
and  natural  that  I  wondered  I  had  not  thought  of  it  before. 

In  my  younger  days,  I  had  often  amused  myself  by  fashion 
ing  boats  and  similar  toys  out  of  the  little  bits  of  wax  I  found 
in  my  mother's  work-basket.  The  skill  which  I  had  then  ac 
quired  now  proved  of  signal  service.  I  seized  the  wax  with 


58  TI1E    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

eagerness,  and  sought  to  soften  and  mould  it  in  my  palm.  But 
I  soon  found  that  it  was  too  hard  to  yield  to  such  treatment, 
and  I  looked  around  for  other  means  to  subdue  its  obstinacy. 
The  axe,  basking  in  the  sun,  had  become  so  warm  as  to  be 
really  painful  to  the  touch.  By  applying  the  wax  to  its 
heated  surface,  I  softened  it  sufficiently  to  mould  it  into  what 
form  I  pleased.  The  slender  stick  I  had  thrown  at  the  bear 
furnished  me  with  a  handle,  and  in  less  than  an  hour  I  held 
in  my  hand  a  cup  not  bigger  than  an  English  walnut,  but  well 
enough  fitted  for  its  intended  purpose.  I  surveyed  it  with 
childish  admiration,  while  Alice  looked  on  with  a  sort  of  lan 
guid  curiosity. 

I  was  pleased  at  seeing  her  thoughts  thus  diverted.  I  made 
haste  to  dip  my  cup  into  the  keg,  and  then  silently  held  it  out 
for  her  to  drink.  She  took  it  without  a  word,  but  her  hand 
trembled,  and  half  the  precious  fluid  was  wasted  on  her  dress. 
The  next  time  she  did  better;  but,  having  drained  the  cup 
three  times,  she  signed  to  me  that  she  was  satisfied,  and  no 
urgency  on  my  part  could  induce  her  to  drink  another  drop. 

I  contented  myself  with  six  cups,  though  this  seemed  but 
to  increase  my  thirst,  and  then  turned  to  the  bear,  who  had 
been  all  this  time  getting  more  and  more  uneasy.  I  took  off 
one  of  my  boots,  and,  having  made  a  little  hollow  in  the  leg, 
I  dipped  out  for  him  the  same  quantity  that  I  had  taken  for 

myself. 

This  important  business  was  at  length  over  ;  the  little  flow 
of  spirits  it  had  started  was  dried  up,  and  I  was  at  leisure  to 
survey  the  full  horrors  of  my  situation.  And,  indeed,  they 
were  enough  to  dismay  a  stouter  heart  than  mine  ;  for,  though 
there  was  something  of  the  hero,  there  was  little  of  the  mar 
tyr,  in  my  composition.  Amid  the  noise  of  battle,  the  shock 
of  opposing  armies,  the  delirious  whirl  of  the  charge,  the  pur- 


FORTITUDE    OF    ALICE.  59 

suit,  the  victory,  I  should  have  done  as  well  as  most;  but  a 
lingering  death,  coming  on  just  fast  enough  to  discover  all  its 
horrid  lineaments,  pushing  on  its  slow  but  sure  advance,  day 
after  day,  hemming  in  the  starving  garrison  with  its  stern, 
remorseless  league,  —  this  demanded  qualities  of  a  totally 
different  description,  and  in  which  I  was  wofully  deficient. 

But  Alice  was  my  better  angel.  With  her  sitting  by  my 
side,  it  was  impossible  to  yield  to  apathy  or  despair.  I  was 
too  weak  to  bear  my  own  calamity,  but  this  added  burden  gave 
me  strength.  There  was  a  proud  swelling  of  my  heart  when 
ever  I  thought  how  dependent  she  was  on  my  protection.  If 
she  were  saved,  it  would  be  owing  entirely  to  me.  No  one 
could  rob  me  of  that  sweet  privilege.  And,  as  I  thought  on 
these  things,  I  felt  the  strength  of  a  thousand  men  in  my  single 
arm. 

Nor  was  this  the  only  way  in  which  she  helped  me.  Though 
so  young,  her  understanding  was  far  more  mature  than  mine. 
She  appreciated  the  difficulties  of  my  situation,  and  at  once 
came  to  my  relief.  She  put  away  her  private  griefs  for  a 
more  convenient  season,  and  thought  only  how  she  could  best 
contribute  to  the  common  welfare.  And  this  assurance  of  her 
sympathy  wns  all  I  wanted,  and  all  she  could  offer.  For, 
with  all  my  efforts,  I  could  never  teach  her  to  manage  either 
oar  or  sail.  Even  when  I  was  watching  and  directing  her 
she  did  nothing  but  blunder. 

But  the  more  she  blundered,  the  more  I  loved  her.  Nor 
were  the  inconveniences  arising  from  this  ignorance  so  great 
as  might  at  first  sight  be  supposed.  True,  I  could  never  leave 
the  oar  except  for  a  moment,  and  for  several  nights  I  .suffered 
for  want  of  sleep.  But,  by  degrees,  I  learned  to  steer  while 
sleeping,  and  once  or  twice,  when  there  was  little  wind,  I  slept 
more  than  twelve  hours  without  waking. 


(JO  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLP. 

In  action,  then,  Alice  was  of  little  assistance.    But  in  pas 
sive  endurance  I  have  never  seen  her  equal.      Her  hope,  and 
faith,  and  constancy,  were  really  wonderful.    And  all  the  more 
wonderful  because  a  thoughtful  imagination  like  hers  is  apt  to 
breed  melancholy ;  and  melancholy,  in  its  turn,  nourishes  the 
imagination  at  the  expense  of  reason  and  judgment,  and  other 
qualities  such  as  are  commonly  supposed  to  impart  energy  and 
strength.     I  was  at  first  puzzled  by  this  unusual  combination, 
but  finally  accounted  for  it  on  the   score  of   her  youth  and 
inexperience.       »  Young  blood  !  young  blood  !  "  I  constantly 
repeated,  whenever  I  found  myself  drawing  a  comparison  be 
tween  her  character  and  my  own ;  «  wait  till  she  is  as  old  as 
I  am,  and  then  we  shall  see  if  she  does  not  abate  a  little  of 
her  ardor.     Wait  till  care  and  anxiety  and  disappointment 
have  taught  her  wisdom.     But,  after  all,  what  can  a  woman 
ever  know  of  these  things  ?    The  spoiled  and  petted  plaything 
of  man's  idle  hours  !  " 

"What  are  you  thinking  of?"  said  Alice,  suddenly,  and 
with  an  apparent  effort,  «  You  have  been  talking  to  yourself 
this  ever  so  long,  and  I  should  like  to  know  what  it  is  all 
about." 

The  manner  in  which  she  spoke  showed  that  she  had  yet  no 
suspicion  of  my  true  character.  Now,  then,  was  the  time  to 
undeceive  her !  My  features  are  usually  very  flexible,  but, 
when  I  please,  I  can  be  as  imperturbable  as  a  marble  statue. 
So,  disguising  my  real  feelings  under  an  air  of  authority,  I 
replied,  "  And  if  I  should  tell  you,  Miss  Cremorne,  in  what 
would  you  be  the  wiser?  If  you  were  a  man,  it  might  be 
different ;  but  what  has  a  woman  to  do  with  care  and  sorrow  ?  " 
"What,  indeed?"  said  Alice;  and  she  looked  out  at  the 
salt  waves,  as  if  saying,  «  These,  at  least,  have  not  spared  me." 


QUARREL  AND   RECONCILIATION.  01 

I  should  have  stopped  at  that  mournful  reproach,  but  I 
went  on.  «  You  do  not  believe  it,  I  see." 

"  I  suppose  I  ought  to  believe  it,"  she  replied ;  « I  know 
nothing  of  the  world  but  what  I  have  learned  from  books, 
until  this  voyage."  ' 

Her  fine  eyes  filled  with  tears,  and  I  looked  away,  that  she 
might  enjoy  her  sorrow  undisturbed.  «  Poor  thing,"  thought 
I,  "you  are,  indeed,  sadly  ignorant  and  inexperienced ;  but  no 
matter,  as  long  as  you  have  me  to  take  care  of  you !  Fortu 
nately  I  know  enough  for  both.  It  would  be  hard  to  find  any 
one  who  knows  the  world  better  than  I  do.  To  be  sure,  it 
docs  very  little  good  here  in  the  middle  of  the  Pacific,  with 
no  one  but  that  villain  bear;  but  I  shall  have  an  opportunity 
before  long,  and  then  I  will  show  you  the  difference  between 
mere  book-learning  and  the  knowledge  that  one  derives  from 
actual  experience." 

Presently  Alice  spoke  again  :  «  Are  all  sailors  like  you?" 

"  Like  me  ?     0,  no  !     I  am  not  a  sailor.     I  never  went  to 
sea  before  in  my  life." 

"You  are  not  a  sailor?      You  have  never  been  to  sea 
before  ?  " 

"  Never." 

"Then  tell  me  what  you  have  been." 

There  was  a  pretty  imperiousness  about  her  that  charmed 
while  it  alarmed  me.  In  spite  of  my  great  superiority  in  age 
and  experience,  I  began  to  fear  that  we  might  change  places 
after  all.  Besides,  I  felt  already  that  strange  desire  of  inflict 
ing  pain,  which  we  are  apt  in  certain  moods  to  indulge  towards 
those  we  love.  But,  as  one  amusing  himself  by  pinching  his 
own  arm,  looks  in  the  glass  to  know  when  it  is  time  to  stop, 
so  I  kept  my  eyes  all  the  time  fixed  upon  her  face  lest  I  should 
go  too  far. 

6 


Q'2  THE   NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD. 

"  It  is  no  time  now,"  I  said,  "  to  talk  of  such'  things,  when 
every  hour  may  prove  our  last.  In  our  present  critical  situ 
ation  we  have  enough  else  to  do  without  stopping  to  gratify 
an  idle  curiosity." 

I  shall  never  forget  the  look  of  reproachful  wonder,  not  un 
mixed  with  a  certain  haughty  indignation,  with  which  Alice 
regarded  me  at  the  conclusion  of  this  unfeeling  speech.  How 
ever,  I  did  my  best  not  to  notice  it,  and  was  preparing  to  go 
on  in  the  same  strain,  when  I  saw  her  lips  tremble.  Her  pride 
had  yielded  to  her  sensibility  ;  her  will  to  mine.  Yet  my 
satisfaction  at  this  victory  was  marred  by  thought  of  the 
meanness  of  which  I  had  been  guilty  in  thus  taking  advan 
tage  of  her  unhappy  condition. 

"  If  her  natural  protector  had  been  spared  to  her,"  I  said 
to  myself,  "  you  would  never  have  dared  thus  to  play  the 
tyrant." 

Yet  no  man  ever  loved  woman  as  I  loved  Alice.  Even  at 
the  moment  when  she  was  reproaching  me  for  my  unkindness, 
I  would  have  died  for  her  sake.  And,  though  I  had  con 
quered,  it  was  a  dear-bought  victory.  Such  another  would 
be  my  ruin.  Already  I  was  the  humblest  of  her  slaves. 

This  little  difficulty  had  done  more  to  establish  confidence 
between  us  than  a  year  of  ordinary  intercourse  ;  though  lam 
well  aware  that  to  many  it  must  seem  a  very  strange  way  of 
commencing  an  acquaintance.  But  I  was  too  shy  to  go 
through  the  formalities  usual  in  such  cases.  My  way  of 
forming  an  acquaintance  was  that  of  a  bee  with  a  honey 
suckle,  —  alike  sudden  and  impetuous. 

I  no  sooner  saw  that  my  charming  Alice  was  about  to 
yield  than  I  made  haste  to  spare  her  the  mortification. 

"  But  forgive  me, "  I  said,  «  for  speaking  to  you  in  this 
way.  I  was  thinking  of  something  else.  I  will  tell  you 


-      I    TELL   ALICE   MY  STORY.  63 

my  story,  and  afterwards  you  can  tell  me  yours.  It  will  help 
to  pass  away  the  time.  But  first  let  us  eat  our  dinner ;  it 
must  be  past  noon,  and  the  bear,  I  see,  is  getting  hungry.  " 

So  saying,  I  again  produced  the  biscuit  and  water,  and  wo 
both  at  once  fell  to  work,  nibbling  and  sipping  alternately, 
with  the  greatest  deliberation,  in  order  to  prolong  our  enjoy 
ment  as  long  as  possible.  But  the  bear  very  foolishly  swal 
lowed  his  at  once,  and  then  sat  looking  at  us  as  if  he 
grudged  us  every  morsel,  till  at  last  I  had  to  give  him  a 
piece  of  my  own.  I  did  this  partly  to  make  up  with  him, 
for  I  saw  that  he  was  not  quite  pleased  with  my  treatment 
of  his  young  mistress,  and  seemed  rather  disposed  to  stand 
up  in  her  defence.  I  had  caught  him  looking  at  me  several 
times  during  our  brief  contention  with  evident  displeasure, 
and  at  length  he  uttered  a  very  decided  growl.  Even  when 
I  threw  him  this  little  peace-offering  he  seemed  to  hesitate 
about  taking  it ;  but,  after  directing  an  inquiring  glance  at 
Alice,  and  seeing  that  she  was  satisfied,  he  ate  his  biscuit, 
and  then,  resting  his  head  on  one  of  the  seats,  he  quietly 
waited  for  my  story,  as  if  he  expected  to  be  as  much  inter 
ested  in  it  as  anybody  else. 

The  afternoon  was  nearly  gone  before  I  had  finished ;  for 
A.lice  was  not  content  with  the  brief  account  I  have  already 
*iven,  but  insisted  upon  having  a  much  more  circumstantial 
narration.  She  multiplied  question  upon  question,  with  most 
perplexing  rapidity,  till  at  last  I  found  nothing  would  do  but 
I  must  begin  at  the  beginning,  and  give  her  the  whole  history 
of  my  daily  life.  Her  curiosity  seemed  perfectly  insatiable, 
for  she  had  seen  so  little  of  the  world,  that  my  life,  uneventful 
as  it  had  been,  possessed  for  her  all  the  charm  of  the  mo^t 
exciting  romance. 

I  concealed  nothing  from  her.     I  told  her  all  my  boyish 


(J4  THE   NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD. 

aspirations,  and  all  my  subsequent  disappointments.  If  I 
had  been  a  little  darker,  we  might  have  sat  for  the  picture  of 
Othello  and  Desdemona.  As  I  proceeded,  she  became  more 
and  more  absorbed.  She  seemed  totally  forgetful,  not  only 
of  her  present  situation,  but  of  her  recent  sorrow.  She 
leaned  slightly  forward,  as  if  fearful  lest  she  should  lose  a 
single  word.  The  consciousness  of  her  sympathy  fairly  made 
me  eloquent,  and  I  was  surprised  at  my  own  powers.  She 
regarded  me  now  with  more  attentive  interest.  Several  times 
I  taught  her  looking  at  me  with  such  a  tender  expression 
that  I  hardly  knew  how  to  contain  my  transports. 

Her  soul  stole  tremblingly  its  little  hand  in  mine.  She 
said  not  a  word,  nor  did  I ;  but  our  hearts,  like  watches  side 
by  side,  beat  sadly  out  of  time. 

So,  I  fancy,  Jupiter  might  feel,  if  our  modest  little  earth 
should  leave  her  sphere  and  circle  coquettishly  into  his. 
Could  he  be  angry  at  that  sweet  disturbing  influence  ?  or,  if 
the  whole  universe  went  to  wreck,  who  that  has  ever  loved 
could  find  it  in  his  heart  to  say,  "  Why  did  you  so?  " 

"  She  loves  me  !  —  she  loves  me  !  "  again  and  again  I 
murmured  ;  and  the  waves  and  the  wind  seemed  to  echo  the 
words,  "  She  loves  you !  she  loves  you  !  " 

The  shifting  of  the  sail  suddenly  brought  me  back  to 
myself.  I  thought  at  first  that  the  wind  had  changed ;  but, 
on  looking  at  the  sun,  I  found  that  in  my  abstraction  I  had 
turned  the  boat's  head  towards  the  north-east.  I  made  haste 
to  rectify  my  blunder,  with  a  firm  resolve  not  to  fall  into  it 
again ;  but  it  was  only  to  fall  into  the  opposite,  for  the  first 
thing  I  knew  we  were  right  in  the  eye  of  the  wind,  with  the 
sail  swinging  lazily  from  side  to  side. 

0,  with  what  delicious  confusion  I  glanced  towards  my 
charming  Alice,  half  in  hope,  and  half  in  fear,  that  she 


SWEET   AND   BITTER    RECOLLECTIONS.  65 

mitfht  detect  the  cause  of  these  strange  manoeuvres  !  She  was 
too  inexperienced,  however,  to  perceive  anything  out  of  the 
way  in  what  had  happened ;  and,  on  the  whole,  it  is  well  that 
it  was  so,  or  she  would  have  formed  a  very  low  estimate  of 
my  skill  in  navigation. 

But  I  must  not  linger  longer  over  those  mysterious,  happy 
hours.  They  can  never  be  to  the  reader  what  they  are  to 
me.  I  must  not  keep  him  from  my  story.  Yet  bear  with 
me  a  little  longer ;  or  turn  aside  and  wait  for  me  a  moment, 
while  I  indulge  my  fond  weakness.  For  a  moment  of  that 
happiness  it  seems  as  if  I  would  gladly  sacrifice  a  whole 
eternity.  And  while  I  write  I  seem  to  live  it  over  again. 
Once  more  I  am  in  our  little  boat,  alone  with  Alice,  on 
that  glassy  heaving  sea  !  I  see  the  breeze  play  through  her 
hair  ;  her  shadow  thrown  across  the  bottom  of  the  boat ; 
the  tangled  fringes  of  her  shawl ;  the  crumbs  that  had  been 
scattered  upon  it  —  too  small  even  for  us  to  eat. 

I  feel  once  more  that  gentle  motion.  It  bears  me  away, 
away,  back  into  my  sunny  youth,  —  like  Laduslad  borne  in 
the  ship  of  heaven  beyond  Kehama's  curse.  Grudge  me  not 
this  brief  respite.  Bring  not  back  the  fierce  fire  into  my 
brain.  It  will  not  be  for  long.  Even  now  my  eyes  are  dry 
again. 

6* 


Oil  APT  Ell    V. 

Voyage  in  the  Boat  continued.  —  Alice  tells  her  Story.  —  Character  of 
her  Grandfather.  —  Our  Sufferings  from  Thirst.  —  Water  exhausted.  — 
We  sec  a  Ship. —  Flying-fish.  — Strange  Behavior  of  the  Bear.  — 1 
steer  towards  the  South-west.  —  Land  in  Sight.  -  Difficulty  of  Land 
ing.  _  A  desperate  Expedient. —  Tame  Birds.— The  subterranean 
Passage. 

AFTER  supper,  when  the  moon  had  risen,  and  we  were 
gliding  along  before  a  gentle  breeze  over  the  long  Pacific 
swells,  "  Now,"  said  I,  "  you  are  going  to  tell  me  all  about 
yourself." 

"  I  should  have  no  objection,"  replied  Alice,  smiling  sadly, 
but  with  an  inexpressible,  sweet  archness,  "  to  gratify  your 
curiosity,  but  at  present  more  important  matters  demand  our 
attention.  Our  situation  " 

"How,  dearest  Alice!  how  can  —  "  I  stopped,  blushing 
at  my  boldness.  Alice  blushed  with  me,  and,  leaning  over 
the  side  of  the  boat,  dipped  her  little  fingers  in  the  tops  of 
the  waves  that  rose  to  kiss  them.  She  tried  to  look  grave,  but 
could  not ;  she  sought  then  to  hide  her  smiles,  but  she  was 
not  quick  enough.  Those  tell-tale  smiles!  All  heaven 
seemed  to  open. 

I  wonder  if  any  one  ever  smiled  just  as  she  did  !  I  mean 
as  she  did  then,  with  her  head  drawn  down  slightly  on  one 
side,  and  that  engaging  air  of,  I  know  not  what  to  call  it, 


ALICE'S   GRANDFATHER.  67 

unless  it  be  such  coquetry  as  angels  use.  0,  God  iii  heaven  ! 
grant  me  to  see  those  smiles  once  more  ! 

Presently  she  began  her  story.  I  shall  not  tell  it  as  she 
told  it,  for  it  would  take  too  long,  and,  besides,  there  were  a 
thousand  tender  touches  never  intended  for  any  other  ear 
than  mine. 

Her  life  in  many  respects  had  been  peculiar.  Her  father 
was  born  and  brought  up  in  New  England ;  but,  like  many 
others  in  those  days,  he  had  early  left  his  native  State  to 

practise  his  profession  at  the  South.  The  town  of  R d, 

in  Virginia,  was  the  place  to  which  a  strange  fortune  had 
finally  led  him.  Here,  by  a  still  stranger  fortune,  he  met  and 
married  a  young  lady  by  the  name  of  Usher,  whose  many 
excellences  seemed  to  promise  as  much  happiness  as  this  world 
has  to  afford.  But  this  fair  prospect  was  destined  to  be  sud 
denly  blasted.  Young  Cremorne  had  hardly  entered  upon  his 
brilliant  career  when  it  was  cut  short  by  death.  His  desolate 
widow,  with  little  dowry  except  her  youth  and  beauty,  had 
found  a  home  for  herself  and  infant  child  in  the  house  of  her 
husband's  father.  But  her  delicate  constitution  was  ill  able 
to  withstand  the  rigor  of  our  New  England  winters,  and  the 
very  day  on  which  my  Alice  completed  her  second  year  saw 
her  mother  laid  in  the  grave. 

Thus  she  had  never  known  what  it  was  to  have  father  or 
mother,  brother  or  sister.  And  her  grandfather,  who  now 
assumed  almost  the  entire  care  of  her  education,  was  at  first 
sight  the  last  person  in  the  world  to  whom  one  would  commit 
so  delicate  a  trust. 

From  all  I  could  learn,  he  must  have  been  a  man  after  my 
own  heart ;  a  fair  scholar,  fonder  of  reading  books,  perhaps, 
than  men,  yet  fonder  of  reading  his  own  thoughts  than  either ; 
with  a  fine  theoretical  knowledge  of  the  rules  of  human  life 


68  THE   NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

and  conduct,  yet  profoundly  ignorant  of  their  practical  appli 
cation.  He  failed  in  all  that  he  attempted,  and  only  suc 
ceeded  where  he  made  no  effort.  What  he  knew  he  could 
not  do,  but  what  he  did  without  knowing,  was  in  the  highest 
degree  admirable.  His  head  often  failed  him,— *  his  heart 
never. 

In  short,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was  a  humorist 
and  a  genius ;  and  I  was  sorry  that  I  had  not  known  him 
better.  But  Alice  was  never  tired  of  talking  of  him,  and 
she  told  me  so  much  that  at  last  I  came  to  feel  as  if  I  had 
known  him  all  my  life. 

With  her  grandfather,  a  maiden  aunt,  and  an  old  servant, 
for  her  only  companions,  Alice  had  necessarily  passed  much 
of  her  time  in  solitude.  But  her  solitude  was  far  from  soli 
tary.  Her  imagination  peopled  it.  Wherever  she  went  she 
was  waited  on  by  a  thousand  followers.  She  moved  among 
them  as  a  queen.  She  had  books  and  flowers.  The  clouds 
talked  to  her;  the  mountains  in  the  far  horizon  nodded 
kindly  upon  her ;  she  had  walked  among  their  shadows. 

Old  men  had  been  to  see  her  grandfather,  but  I  was  the 
first  of  her  own  age  she  had  ever  known.  As  Ferdinand  to 
Miranda,  so  was  I  to  Alice.  And  well  for  me,  well  for  us 
both,  that  it  was  so.  My  jealous,  exacting  temper  asked  no 
less.  I  would  not  live  in  a  heart  where  another  had  been 
before  me.  Neither  the  excellence  of  her  understanding,  nor 
the  liveliness  of  her  fancy,  nor  the  heights  and  depths  of  her 
imagination,  nor  the  warmth  of  her  affections,  hardly  her 
matchless  beauty  even,  or  all  these  together,  gave  me  such 
fulness  of  satisfaction  as  the  simple  thought,  "  I  am  the  only 
one  she  has  ever  loved." 

And  still,  ever  and  anon,  I  hear  a  voice  that  seems  to  say, 
"  Thou  art  the  only  one  she  ever  loved." 


OUR  SUFFERINGS  FROM  THIRST.  69 

"If  you  love  ine  and  no  other,  I  ask  nothing  else  beside; 
Had  that  lovo  an  elder  brother,  it  had  better  never  died. 
Say  not  your  heart  is  infinite,  like  a  river  or  a  sea; 
If  but  one  has  wet  his  lip  in  it,  hot  a  drop  is  left  for  me. " 

Our  conversation  was  prolonged  far  into  the  night.  But 
towards  morning  weariness  overcame  her,  and  she  slept, 
leaning  her  head  on  her  hand.  When  I  heard  her  sigh,  and 
saw  the  painfulncss  of  her  position,  I  took  pity  on  her,  and 
drew  her  head  down  upon  my  breast.  Then  I  forgot  how 
tired  and  sleepy  I  was  myself,  and  wished  the  night  might 
last  forever.  But,  in  the  morning,  when  the  sun  rose  bright 
and  warm,  she  opened  her  eyes,  and,  when  she  saw  where 
she  was,  she  blushed,  and  moved  further  away. 

The  bear  also  began  to  stretch  and  yawn,  and  seemed 
trying  to  recall  his  dreams,  —  dreams,  perhaps,  of  his  early 
days,  when  he  frolicked  among  the  mountains,  grubbing  for 
the  tender  roots,  and  rolling  with  his  brothers  and  sisters  over 
and  over  on  the  green  grass.  The  imagination,  however,  even 
•f  a  bear  was  unable  to  discover  any  resemblance  between 
his  former  situation  and  the  present;  and,  with  a  grunt 
expressive  of  the  most  profound  contempt  and  dissatisfaction, 
he  again  stretched  himself  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat.  The 
savage  gleam  in  his  eye,  when  I  gave  him  his  usual  allowance 
for  breakfast,  and  the  fierce  voracity  with  which  he  swallowed 
it,  set  me  upon  a  train  of  most  painful  thought, 

I  began  myself  already  to  feel  the  torments  of  thirst,  while 
Alice's  pale  cheek  and  sunken  eye  filled  my  heart  with  yet 
more  anxious  forebodings.  I  tried  in  vain  to  persuade  her  to 
take  more  food;  she  persisted  in  saying  that  she  had  enough, 
that  she  did  not  feel  either  hunger  or  thirst,  and  that,  if  any 
one  needed  more,  it  must  be  I. 


70  THE   NEW   AGE   OF    GOLD. 

The  second  day  dragged  wearily.  We  hardly  spoke  a 
word ;  but  we  expressed  our  sympathy  in  looks,  and  now  and 
then  an  involuntary  sigh.  The  night  was  showery  ;  it  rained 
all  around  us,  and  a  few  drops  fell  on  our  parched  lips ;  but 
the  third  morning  came  without  a  cloud. 

At  noon  I  drained  the  last  drop  of  water  from  the  keg. 
We  had  still  bread  enough  for  several  days,  but,  without 
water,  it  seemed  only  to  aggravate  our  misery.  All  the  after 
noon  I  sat  staring  stupidly  at  the  keg,  as  if  it  were  possible 
to  refill  it.  Again  and  again  I  tipped  it  up,  in  the  vain  hope 
of  finding  a  few  drops  still  lingering  in  the  bottom.  I  hoped 
the  night  would  bring  relief;  but  our  thirst  and  fever  grew 
every  hour  more  intolerable.  I  had  no  longer  strength  or 
spirit  to  hold  the  oar ;  so,  abandoning  the  boat  to  its  own 
guidance,  I  drew  Alice,  now  unresisting,  to  my  side,  and 
waited  for  the  morning,  which  I  thought  would  never  come. 

It  came  at  last,  and  I  strained  my  weary  eyes  in  every 
direction,  in  hopes  of  discovering  a  passing  sail. 

About  the  middle  of  the  forenoon  a  little  speck  far  to  lee 
ward  caught  my  eye.  I  pointed  it  out  to  Alice,  and  we  both- 
agreed  that  it  was  a  ship.  But  would  they  see  us?  The 
doubt  was  agony.  They  must  see  us,  —  I  could  see  them  so 
plainly.  Her  hull  was  partly  beneath  the  horizon,  but  I 
could  see  the  captain  pacing  the  quarter-deck,  the  mate 
scanning  the  sails,  the  men  scattered  in  little  groups  about 
the  deck.  I  fancied  I  could  even  hear  the  jest  and  song 
with  which  they  beguiled  their  labor,  and  the  ripple  around 
the  bows  as  the  ship  made  her  way  through  the  water. 

And  we  so  few  miles  away,  dying  of  thirst ;  if  they  did 
not  see  us,  there  was  no  love  in  man.  But  they  did  not  wish 
to  see  us.  If  they  had  only  been  to  windward  they  might 
have  taken  the  trouble ;  but  they  were  probably  in  a  hurry, 


STRANGE   BEHAVIOR   OP    THE   BEAR.  71 

and  to  go  so  far  out  of  their  way  was  more  than  we  could 
expect.  Yet,  as  long  as  the  ship  was  in  sight,  I  kept  my  eyes 
fastened  upon  her ;  a  hundred  times  I  felt  sure  that  she  had 
turned  towards  our  boat,  and,  even  after  she  had  disappeared, 
I  still  seemed  to  see  her  dim  shadow  in  the  horizon. 

"  Is  she  gone?"  whispered  Alice. 

I  could  not  reply ;  I  only  pressed  her  harder  to  my  aching 
heart.  In  the  afternoon  a  shoal  of  flying-fish  passing  over 
us,  four  of  them  struck  against  the  sail,  and  fell  into  the 
boat.  Before  I  could  interfere  the  bear  had  appropriated 
two  of  them  for  his  own  share,  but  I  made  out  to  secure  the 
others,  and,  having  cleaned  them  with  my  knife,  I  offered 
them  to  Alice,  and  urged  her  to  eat.  Hungry  as  she  was, 
however,  she  could  not  overcome  her  repugnance,  and  I  was 
obliged  to  eat  them  both  myself.  They  revived  my  courage 
wonderfully,  and  once  more,  as  the  wind  was  fair,  I  turned 
the  boat's  head  towards  the  north-west. 

All  night  we  held  our  course.  But,  when  the  morning 
dawned,  weak  and  dispirited,  I  dropped  the  oar.  The  bear's 
behavior  had  lately  been  such  as  to  excite  my  alarm,  if  I  had 
been  capable  of  such  an  emotion.  Standing  on  his  hind  legs, 
with  his  fore  paws  on  the  gunwale,  he  seemed  several  times 
about  to  spring  into  the  sea  ;  then,  with  a  sudden  motion, 
so  violent  as  almost  to  upset  the  boat,  he  would  throw  him 
self  completely  over  the  seat,  moaning  all  the  while  as  if  in 
the  greatest  agony. 

At  first  I  was  entirely  at  a  loss  what  to  make  of  this 
strange  behavior.  But,  all  at  once,  the  thought  flashed  into 
my  mind,  "  What  if  we  should  be  near  land,  and  his  superior 
instincts  have  already  warned  him  of  our  approach  ?  "  By 
his  looking  constantly  towards  the  south-west,  he  seemed  to 
say  that  land  was  in  that  direction.  I  determined  to  make 


THE   NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 


him  pilot,  and,  if  he  deceived  us,  we  should  still  be  no  worse 
off  than  before.  The  wind  was  favorable,  and  almost  too 
strong  for  our  little  craft ;  but  the  bear  was  now  fortunately 
quiet,  and  I  could  not  make  up  my  mind  to  reef. 

After  running  in  this  way  perhaps  an  hour,  with  the  water 
all  the  time  coming  over  the  side,  I  had  begun  to  despair, 
when,  the  boat  yawing  a  little,  from  my  nervous  steering,  a 
small  conical  cloud,  that  had  been  before  hidden  by  the  mast, 
appeared  directly  ahead.  A  second  glance  satisfied  me  that 
it  was  land.  I  whispered  my  hopes  to  Alice,  and  besought 
her  to  hold  out  a  little  longer ;  to  which  she  replied  only  by  a 
faint  smile  and  a  feeble  pressure  of  the  hand. 

It  was  an  agonizing  calculation  that  I  had  to  make.  I 
looked  at  the  little  speck  of  land,  faint  and  blue  in  the 
horizon,  and  thought  how  long  it  would  take  to  reach  it- 
Then  I  looked  at  Alice,  and  sought  to  measure  out  in  hours 
and  minutes  the  apparently  scanty  remnant  of  her  life. 

I  thought  the  boat  had  never  moved  so  slowly.  To  my 
feverish  imagination  it  seemed  as  if  death  were  on  our  track. 
It  was  a  race  between  him  and  us.  His  bony  hand  con 
tinually  pulled  us  back. 

At  noon  the  land  was  hardly  any  nearer.  The  sun  set, 
and  we  were  still  at  sea ;  but  all  night  long  we  heard  the 
distant  murmur  of  the  surf,  and  our  imaginations  were  filled 
with  dreams  of  running  brooks,  bubbling  fountains,  and  silver 
lakes,  in  which  we  might  drink,  and  bathe,  and  drown,  if 
need  be,  in  supreme  felicity. 

I  would  not,  if  I  could,  describe  the  protracted  horrors  of 
that  night.  It  passed,  and  the  morning  came.  With  the 
earliest  dawn  I  looked  towards  the  land.  Its  rugged  outline 
first  appeared,  drawn  rudely  against  the  western  sky.  With 
the  increasing  light  its  massive  features  came  out  one  by  one, 


A   DESPERATE   EXPEDIENT.  73 

here  a  peak  and  there  a  hollow  —  wild,  grotesque,  fantastic 
—  dark  with  frowning  rocks,  softly  bright  with  trees  and 
vines  and  flowers. 

The  surf  broke  in  tremendous  rollers  along  its  base,  and  I 
looked  in  vain  for  a  place  to  land.  On  the  left  there 
appeared  a  little  cove,  where  the  violence  of  the  waves  was 
broken  by  a  projecting  point,  but,  on  rounding  the  promon 
tory,  I  discovered  that  the  rocks  rose  directly  from  the  water, 
presenting  a  wall  so  steep  and  high  that  all  access  seemed 
impossible,  and  we  had  to  hold  on  our  course  towards  the 
south,  till,  having  reached  the  end  of  the  island,  I  tacked  and 
stood  towards  the  west.  But  everywhere  was  the  same  im 
pregnable  front.  By  noon  we  had  reached  the  western 
extremity  of  the  island,  and  all  hope  seemed  well-nigh  gone. 
It  was  now  three  days  since  we  had  tasted  water.  For  two 
days  Alice  had  hardly  tasted  food.  But  by  keeping  our 
clothes  constantly  wet  we  had  somewhat  relieved  the  pangs  of 
thirst ;  and,  as  for  me,  my  strength  held  out  wonderfully.  It 
was  only  when  I  looked  at  Alice  that  I  felt  my  heart  sink 
within  me.  I  could  not  live  without  her.  But  it  was  now 
too  evident  that,  unless  relief  came  soon,  it  might  as  well  not 
come  at  all.  As  for  the  bear,  I  was  now  too  weak  to  think 
of  contending  with  him  ;  and,  besides,  he  had  so  won  upon 
me,  —  there  was  such  an  appearance  of  human  sympathy  and 
suffering  in  all  his  looks  and  actions,  —  that  I  should  almost 
as  soon  have  thought  of  taking  the  life  of  a  man. 

But  there  was  one  thing  I  could  do.  Weak  as  I  was,  I 
had  still  some  strength  to  spare.  How  could  I  employ  it 
better  ?  No  sooner  said  than  done.  I  eagerly  stripped  off 
my  jacket,  drew  up  the  sleeve  of  my  flannel  shirt,  and,  open 
ing  a  vein  in  my  arm,  applied  it  to  those  sweet  lips.  Uncon 
sciously  she  drew  in  new  life  from  my  veins.  She  was  mine 
7 


74  THE   NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 

by  a  double  right ;  I  had  given  her  existence.  With  what 
wonderful  happiness  I  saw  her  filmy  eyes  open  once  more  to 
the  light!  Yet,  in  that  moment  of  heavenly  bliss,  I  —  but 
no,  I  cannot  tell;  but  I  promised  no  concealment,  and  what 
difference  does  it  make  now  what  any  one  thinks  of  me? — I 
wondered  if  she  noticed  the  whiteness  of  my  arm ! 

But  I  had  saved  her.  Now  we  rounded  the  northern  point, 
and  turned  again  towards  the  south-east.  Fortunately,  tho 
wind  had  veered  considerably,  so  that  I  was  not  obliged  to 
tack ;  but  this  favorable  circumstance  held  out  little  encour 
agement.  We  .had  already  skirted  three-fourths  of  the 
island ;  what  hope  was  there  that  the  remaining  portion 
would  prove  more  accessible  ?  Still  we  could  but  make  the 
attempt,  and  then,  when  all  had  failed  us,  we  could  lie  down 
and  die. 

It  was  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  when  we  again  came 
opposite  the  little  cove.  Since  morning  we  had  sailed,  as  I 
supposed,  abaut  forty  miles.  In  all  that  distance  this  was 
the  only  spot  that  seemed  to  offer  the  least  chance  of  safety. 
Yet  it  was  not  with  a  feeling  of  hope,  but  despair,  that  I 
turned  the  boat  up  into  this  narrow  inlet.  I  would  rather 
die  there,  under  the  shadow  of  the  woods  and  rocks,  than  on 
the  naked,  melancholy  ocean. 

As  we  approached  the  shore  several  birds  came  flying 
about  us.  They  were  very  tame,  and  one  of  them  at  last 
even  lighted  on  the  side  of  the  boat,  hardly  the  length  of  my 
arm  from  where  I  was  sitting.  I  caught  it  without  difficulty, 
and,  tearing  it  in  pieces  as  if  I  had  been  a  wild  beast,  I 
stripped  the  feathers  from  one  of  the  legs,  and  thrust  it  into 
the  hands  of  Alice.  She  ate  it,  hardly  knowing  what  she 
did.  I  gave  the  feet  and  entrails  to  the  bear,  who  swallowed 
them  at  a  single  gulp,  and  then  licked  up  all  the  feathers. 


THE    SUBTERRANEAN    PASSAGE.  75 

The  bird  was  about  the  size  of  a  pigeon;  its  flesh  was  oily 
and  ill-flavored,  but  our  appetites  were  not  critical,  and  I 
was  only  sorry  that  I  could  not  catch  another.  The  tide  was 
now  flowing,  and  a  gentle  current  set  us  towards  the  land. 
As  we  drew  nearer,  I  discovered  a  little  opening  making  in 
between  the  rocks,  but  so  low  and  narrow  that  without  first 
unshipping  the  mast  it  was  impossible  to  enter.  It  was  only 
when  I  came  to  make  this  effort  that  I  found  how  much  my 
strength  was  reduced ;  but  I  at  length  succeeded,  and  urffed 
the  boat  onward  into  this  mysterious  cavern,  that  grew  Irgher 
and  wider  as  we  advanced. 

The  dim  light  reflected  from  the  water  showed  the  low 
arched  roof  of  solid  stone  dripping  with  dews.  Applying 
our  parched  lips  to  the  jutting  rocks  we  sucked  in  eagerly 
the  scanty  moisture.  This  and  the  cool  air  of  the  cavern 
wonder  fully  refreshed  us. 

Still  making  our  way  slowly  along  by  aid  of  the  points 
that  projected  from  the  sides,  we  came  in  about  three  hundred 
yards  to  a  sudden  turn  to  the  left,  where,  to  my  infinite 
delight,  I  perceived,  by  the  faint  light  that  began  to  steal 
along  the  water,  that  we  must  be  approaching  the  end  of  our 
subterranean  voyage.  At  the  same  time  the  angry  clamor 
of  the  baffled  waves  died  away  into  an  almost  inaudible 
murmur.  The  light  now  rapidly  grew  stronger,  and  a  few 
rods  further  the  boat,  pushing  aside  the  clustering  vines,  shot 
out  into  the  open  day. 

The  island  had  at  length  received  us  into  its  bosom.  Full 
of  wonder  and  gratitude,  I  lifted  up  my  trembling  hands  to 
heaven,  and  thanked  God  for  this  strange  and  unlooked-for 
deliverance.  It  was  on  the  tenth  of  June,  1843,  when  I  was 
seventeen,  and  Alice  not  yet  fifteen  years  of  age,  that  we 
entered  this  quiet  haven. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

The  Island. —  The  Fairy  Lake.  — Its  Solitude.  — Search  for  Water.  — 
Sagacity  of  the  Bear.  —  The  Plateau.  —  Delicious  Scenery.  —  Tho 
Fountain.  —  The  First  Night,  and  its  Fancies.  —  Morning.  —  An 
Alarm.  — Its  Nature.  —  Gigantic  Gourds.  —  Naming  the  Bear.  —  The 
Itamblc. —  Adam  and  Eve. — The  Banian  Tree.  —  Inconveniences  of 
Savage  Life.  —  Banks  of  the  Brook.  —  Return  Homo.  —  Sunset. — 
The  Second  Night.  —  Forming  Plans. 

As  near  as  I  could  judge,  it  was  not  far  from  five  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  when  Alice  and  I,  and  the  bear,  caught  the 
first  glimpse  of  that  fairy  like  scenery  in  the  midst  of  which 
we  were  to  spend  the  best  part  of  our  lives.  Ah  me  !  if  I 
could  only  describe  it  as  it  deserves!  If  I  could  trans 
fer  to  paper  any,  even  the  faintest,  of  those  glowing  pictures 
that  rise,  and  float,  and  mingle  in  such  sweet  disorder  in  my 
heart ! 

Behold  an  inland  sea,  a  little  sleeping  lake,  with  bay,  and 
frith,  and  promontory  all  complete; — with  rocks,  and  trees, 
and  vines,  fringed  close  on  every  side  but  one,  and  there  a 
narrow  beach  of  dazzling  sand  bordered  with  the  greenest 
turf!  So  thick  was  the  foliage  that  the  eye  could  penetrate 
scarcely  a  single  foot,  and,  when  I  turned  to  discover  the 
place  where  we  had  entered,  not  the  slightest  indication  of  an 
opening  was  to  be  perceived. 


THE   FAIRY    LAKE. 


I  fancied  that  the  solid  rocks  had  closed  behind  us,  like 
the  door  of  some  enchanted  castle,  and  that,  having  'once 
entered,  all  exit  was  then  impossible.  The  deep  shadows  of 
the  gigantic  trees  stooping  over  the  glassy  water  left  scarce 
room  for  the  sun  to  see  his  face,  even  when  he  had  climbed 
the  highest  ;  but  this  only  made  the  lake  more  beautiful,  like 
the  half-closed,  liquid  eye  of  some  fair  and  languishing  Cir 
cassian. 

The  undisturbed  and  awful  solitude  of  six  thousand  years 
brooded  on  all  around.  I  hardly  dared  to  speak  above  n,y 
breath.  When  I  dipped  my  oar  in  the  quiet  water,  where 
never  oar  had  been  dipped  before,  I  seemed  to  myself  guilty 
of  a  double  crime.  The  old  stories  of  Grecian  mythology, 
on  which  I  had  fed  my  boyish  fancy,  came  into  my  mind,  and 
I  almost  expected  some  nymph  or  naiad  to  step  forth  from 
the  leafy  wood,  or  raise  her  sparkling  head  above  the  flood,  to 
ask  how  I  dared  commit  such  sacrilege. 

Tho  trees  looked  at  me  with  wonder,  and  not  without 
fear.  And  well  they  might,  for  man,  the  universal  tyrant,  had 
now  gained  entrance  into  that  little  world.  Already  the'  lust 
of  dominion  had  filled  my  soul.  Proudly,  and  with  the  air 
of  a  conqueror,  I  advanced  to  take  possession. 

Yet,  after  all,  I  came  not  so  much  a  prince  as  a  beggar. 
A  cup  of  cold  water  was  absolutely  necessary  before  I  anild 
begin  to  govern.  If  my  ne\v-found  kingdom  should  refuse 
me  that,  I  had  little  reason  to  exult  in  my  useless  triumph. 

A  few  strokes  of  the  oar  impelled  the  boat  quite  across  the 
lake,  but  before  the  keel  grated  on  the  sand  the  bear  sprang 
to  the  shore  and  began  to  make  the  best  of  his  way  into  the 
woods.  Hastily  snatching  up  a  shell  that  lay  at  my  feet,  I 
followed  as  fast  as  I  could,  trusting  that  his  unerring  instinct 


78  THE   NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD, 

would  in  this  case,  as  twice  before,  prove  superior  to  my 
boasted  reason. 

I  soon  lost  sight  of  the  bear,  but,  keeping  on  his  track  up 
the  steep  and  rocky  path,  I  came,  almost  exhausted,  to  a 
small  open  plain,  some  three  or  four  hundred  feet  above  the 
lake,  and  separated  from  it  by  a  narrow  belt  of  woods, 
through  whose  leaves,  now  stirred  by  a  gentle  breeze,  came 
the  sparkle  of  the  water  like  the  changing  light  of  a 
diamond. 

The  greatest  length  of  this  plateau,  which  was  as  even  as 
the  smoothest  lawn,  might  have  been  four  hundred  feet,  and  its 
width  two  hundred  and  fifty ;  thus  making  its  area  about  two 
and  a  half  acres.  The  larger  part  of  this  was  contained 
between  two  buttresses  of  the  mountain,  which  rose  behind  it 
as  steep  as  a  castle  wall,  but  mantled  so  thick  from  top  to 
bottom  with  trees,  and  shrubs,  and  flowering  vines,  that  its 
sombre  hues  and  rugged  outlines  were  completely  hidden 
beneath  that  bright  and  flowing  drapery. 

O,.  the  east  the  view  was  cut  off  by  an  impervious  forest, 
but  towards  the  west  there  opened  a  charming  valley,  no 
where  more  than  half  a  mile  in  width,  arid  disclosing  at  the 
further  end  a  fine  prospect  of  the  sea.  By  the  bits  of  silver 
that  glimmered  here  and  there  along  the  valley,  like  frag 
ments  of  a  broken  mirror,  I  could  trace  the  lawless  course  of 
a  laughing  brook,  that,  like  a  child  in  chase  of  a  butterfly, 
baffled  all  conjecture  by  its  frequent  and  capricious  turnings. 
Over  all  this  the  soft  rays  of  the  setting  sun  shed  a  diviner 
light.  Never  in  my  life  had  I  seen  or  imagined  such  deli 
cious  scenery ;  though  I  was  then  too  much  engaged  to 
appreciate  half  its  loveliness,  and  it  was  only  by  slow 
degrees  that  I  became  sensible  of  its  surpassing  beauty. 

On  reaching  the  plateau,  and  looking  round  for  my  com- 


THE   FOUNTAIN.  79 

panion,  I  saw  his  rusty  coat  just  disappearing  among  the  trees 
on  the  further  side.  I  called  to  him  to  stop  and  wait  for  me  ; 
but  he  paid  no  attention,  and  I  began  to  fear  that  I  had  lost 
him  altogether ;  when,  on  pushing  aside  the  branches,  the  first 
thing  I  saw  was  the  bear  stretched  flat  on  his  belly  beside  a 
boiling  spring,  and  drinking  at  such  a  rate  that  it  seemed  as 
if  he  must  certainly  burst.  I  had  no  time,  however,  to 
expostulate  with  him  on  his  folly  ;  but,  having  first  taken  a 
single  draught,  without  which  I  felt  that  I  could  not  possibly 
make  iny  way  back,  I  filled  my  shell  and  set  out  on  my 
return. 

Ah,  me  !  how  well  I  remember  the  delight,  the  rapture 
with  which  I  held  the  shell  to  her  lips,  and  saw  my  Alice 
drain  the  last  drop  of  its  precious  contents  !  lleturning  to 
the  spring,  I  threw  myself  down  beside  the  bear,  and,  with 
my  face  close  to  his,  we  seemed  trying  to  see  which  of  us 
could  drink  the  longer  without  stopping;  till  at  last,  ashamed 
of  setting  him  so  bad  an  example,  I  started  to  my  1'eet,  arid 
strove,  by  tugging  at  his  long  hair,  to  induce  him  to  desist ; 
but  all  my  efforts  failed  to  have  the  slightest  effect ;  so,  leaving 
him  to  kill  himself,  if  he  would,  I  refilled  my  shell  and  has 
tened  back  to  Alice.  After  drinking  what  I  had  brought  her, 
to  my  great  surprise  she  asked  for  more  ;  but  I  thought  she 
had  had  enough  for  once,  and  for  at  least  five  minutes  I  had 
sufficient  resolution  to  withstand  all  her  entreaties.  Then  I 
yielded,  and  agreed  to  bring  her  another  shell ful  if  she  would 
promise  not  to  ask  for  any  more  till  I  chose  to  give  it  to  her. 
She  kept  her  promise,  at  least  as  far  as  words  were  concerned, 
but  after  I  had  helped  her  out  of  the  boat,  and  found  her  a 
seat  on  the  green  grass,  she  looked  up  in  my  face  with  such 
a  miraculous  air  of  entreaty,  that  there  was  absolutely  no 


80  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

strength  left  in  me,  and  if  the  spring  had  run  poison   she 
should  have  had  it  all. 

All  the  time  she  was  drinking  I  kept  walking  round  her, 
now  on  this  side,  now  on  that,  smiling  and  talking  to  myself, 
and  wondering  with  all  my  might  whether  there  were  not 
something  else  that  I  could  do  to  make  her  happy. 

The  sun  was  now  set,  and  it  was  time  to  be  thinking  in 
what  way  we  should  pass  the  night.  Our  ignorance  of  the 
country,  and  the  fear  of  wild  beasts,  inclined  me  at  first  to 
remain  on  board  the  boat ;  but  the  temptation  held  out  by  the 
soft  broad  turf  was  too  great  to  be  resisted  after  so  many 
days  and  nights  spent  in  such  narrow  quarters.  That  Alice, 
however,  might  not  be  obliged  to  sleep  on  the  bare  ground,  I 
brought  the  sail  out  of  the  boat,  and  spreading  it  on  the 
grass  made  a  far  softer  and  more  luxurious  couch  than  she 
had  known  since  leaving  the  ship.  As  for  me,  my  pea-jacket 
was  sufficient  protection ;  so,  after  covering  her  carefully  with 
her  shawl,  and  looking  around  to  sec  that  all  was  safe,  I 
retired  to  a  short  distance,  and  throwing  myself  on  the 
ground  sought  to  compose  my  thoughts  to  sleep. 

But,  weary  as  I  was,  the  novelty  and  excitement  of  my 
situation  kept  me  awake  far  into  the  night.  The  perfect 
quiet  that  reigned  around,  and  which  is  usually  so  favorable 
to  repose,  now  seemed  to  have  a  directly  contrary  effect.  I 
was  oppressed  by  the  weight  of  that  vast  solitude.  I  was 
terrified  by  the  magnificence  of  my  lodgings,  and  longed  for 
some  humbler  shelter  that  should  be  better  suited  to  my  little 
ness.  Like  a  child  hiding  his  head  beneath  the  blankets,  I 
sought  for  something  to  shut  out  the  "big  dark,"  and  thus 
stifle  my  troublesome  imagination. 

And,  when  I  became  somewhat  used  to  this,  a  thousand 
subjects  presented  themselves  for  my  meditation. 


SECOND   MORNING. 


I  asked  myself  again  and  again  in  what  part  of  the  world 
we  could  be,  and  What  probability  there  was  of  our  ever  re 
turning  home. 

I  thought  of  my  mother,  and  brother,  and  sisters,  all  sleep 
ing  quietly  in  their  beds,  and  wondered  if  they  had  any  idea 
of  my  present  situation.  Then  I  opened  my  eyes  and  looked 
around  me,  to  be  sure  that  it  was  not  all  a  dream.  No,  every 
thing  remained  the  same.  There  was  the  lake,  still  a  reser 
voir  of  liquid  light;  there  were  the  mountain  and  the  trees, 
masses  of  impenetrable  shade;  and  there,  hardly  beyond  the 
reach  of  my  arm,  I  could  see  Alice,  my  little  Alice,  already 
sleeping.  And  the  lake,  and  the  trees,  and  the  mountain,  all 
kept  still  while  she  slept. 

"  But  where  was  I  a  year  ago  ?  Let  me  see  ;  I  was  in  col 
lege,  in  Number  Sixteen,  Maine  Hall  ;  puzzling  over  that 
dreadful  Calculus.  I  have  got  rid  of  that,  at  any  rate  ;  but 
what  Calculus  could  have  determined  my  course  since  then? 
Hyperbola  ?  Parabola  ?  If  any  one  had  told  me  !  But  what 
a  satisfaction  to  tell  my  story;  to  show  them  all  that  I  had 
suffered,  and  my  charming  Alice  !  »  and  so,  at  last,  dreaniiii" 
of  her,  I  fell  asleep. 

I  woke  early  the  next  morning,  and  leaving  Alice  still 
sleeping  I  hastened  to  the  spring  to  bathe  my  face  and  hands, 
and  quench  my  burning  thirst. 

The  country  looked  yet  more  inviting  than  on  the  preceding 
evening.  At  every  step  a  new  prospect  presented  itself,  more 
beautiful  than  the  last,  till  I  was  completely  bewildered  by 
their  number  and  variety.  The  foliage  of  the  trees,  and  the 
:orms  and  colors  of  the  flowers,  were  all  new  and  strange  to 
me  ;  no  two  were  alike,  yet  each  seemed  perfect  in  its  kind. 

After  satisfying  my  thirst  I  left  the  spring,  and  turned  to 
walk  across  the  plateau,  towards  its  western  edge,  which  over- 


82  THE    NEW    AGE   OF   GOLD. 

looked  the  valley  ;  but  I  had  hardly  taken  a  single  step  when 
I  was  arrested  in  the  most  startling  manner.  Not  more  than 
fifty  feet  from  where  I  was  standing  there  was  a  small  circu 
lar  clump  of  bushes,  —  prickly  pears  I  discovered  they  were, 
afterwards,  —  about  as  high  as  my  head,  and  growing  so  thick 
together  as  to  form  an  apparently  impenetrable  wall,  so  that 
the  first  impression  was  that  they  had  been  arranged  by  art. 
Above  the  tops  of  these  bushes  I  saw  what  I  at  once  con 
cluded  to  be  the  smooth  oval  roofs  of  a  collection  of  negro 
huts.  They  were  seven  or  eight  feet  high,  of  a  uniform  size 
and  shape,  and  about  the  color  of  dried  mud  —  though,  as  I 
never  could  distinguish  colors  very  well,  they  might  have  been 
of  a  light  green. 

At  first  sight  of  these  alarming  objects  I  retired  hastily  into 
the  wood,  and  then  stopped  a  moment  to  deliberate  on  the 
best  course  to  be  pursued  in  this  perplexing  emergency. 

The  idea  that  there  could  be  any  inhabitants  on  the  island 
had  never  entered  my  mind.  I  had  found  it  so  difficult  of 
access  that  I  had  taken  it  for  granted  that  no  one  else  had 
ever  succeeded.  Nor  had  I,  until  this  moment,  seen  anything 
that  could  lead  to  a  different  conclusion.  Everything,  on  the 
contrary,  seemed  to  show  that  from  creation  until  now  it 
had  never  been  trodden  by  a  human  foot.  This  was  to  me  its 
principal  attraction.  There  was  an  indescribable  charm  in 
the  thought  that  we  had  it  all  to  ourselves ;  that  we  were  there 
as  much°alone  as  if  all  the  rest  of  the  world  had  been  blotted 
out.  But  now  the  charm  was  broken.  Our  fancied  lone 
liness  and  security  were  at  once  destroyed.  It  mattered  lit 
tle  whether  these  savages  were  friends  or  foes  ;  in  either  case 
they  were  almost  equally  unwelcome.  I  tried  to  think  of 
some  way  to  rid  ourselves  of  them.  If  it  had  been  in  my 
power  I  should  hardly  have  hesitated  to  drive  them  all  into 


THE    ALARM.  83 

the  sea.  I  should  be  perfectly  justified  in  doing  so,  for  what 
right  had  they  on  my  island  ? 

All  this  time,  though  listening  very  intently,  I  had  not  heard 
a  sound.  They  were  probably  asleep,  or  absent  on  a  journey. 
I  would  approach  and  observe  them  more  closely.  I  advanced 
with  caution,  holding  my  breath,  and  moving  one  foot  slowly 
after  the  other,  like  an  Indian  spy.  Having  thus  crept  round 
half  the  circle,  I  came  to  a  small  opening,  that  seemed  intended 
for  a  gateway,  and  here  leaning  cautiously  forward,  all  ready 
to  run,  expecting  every  moment  that  my  eyes  would  be  blasted 
by  sight  of  some  hideous  savage,  I  slowly  stretched  my  head 
round  the  corner,  and  the  next  moment  could  hardly  keep 
from  laughing  outright  at  seeing  what  it  really  was  that  had 
given  me  such  a  fright. 

A  single  glance  was  enough  to  dispel  all  my  fears.  But 
my  surprise,  when  I  learned  the  true  nature  of  those  singular 
objects,  was  even  greater  than  before.  Instead  of  being  the 
work  of  art,  and  intended  for  human  habitations,  I  now  per 
ceived  that  they  were  of  vegetable  origin,  —  one  of  those  freaks 
of  nature,  in  which  she  delights  to  show  the  infinite  variety  of 
her  resources.*  They  were,  in  short,  neither  more  nor  less 
than  gigantic  gourds,  not  growing  as  gourds  usually  do,  on 
vines  or  trees,  but  each  supported  by  a"  single  massive  shoot 
or  stem,  a  foot  or  more  in  height,  and  two  or  three  feet  in 
diameter. 


*  I  supposed,  at  the  time  of  my  making  this  discovery,  that  I  was  tho 
only  person  who  had  ever  had  that  pleasure ;  but  I  have  since  been  told  by 

my  friend,  Professor  G ,  of  Cambridge,  that  this  same  species  has  long 

been  well-known  to  botanists  under  tho  name  of  Cueurbita  Maxima 
Agarica  (the  last  name  being  given  on  account  of  its  resemblance  to  the 
common  toadstool),  though  it  had  hitherto  been  found  only  in  the  island 
of  Borneo,  where  it  seldom  exceeds  five  feet  in  height. 


84  THE    NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 

There  were  twenty  or  thirty  of  them  in  all,  but  only  five 
of  the  whole  number  were  very  remarkable  for  their  dimen 
sions.  The  others  varied  from  the  bigness  of  a  barrel  to  that 
of  a  good-sized  pumpkin.  On  coining  close  up  to  the  largest, 
and  trying  it  with  my  knife,  I  found  it  covered  with  a  rind  of 
extraordinary  hardness,  so  that  I  could  scarcely  cut  it.  The 
height  of  this  one,  measuring  from  the  ground,  was  at  least 
nine  feet,  and  its  circumference  about  twenty-five. 

As  I  stood  lost  in  wonder  and  admiration  at  its  size  and 
beauty,  the  idea  suddenly  occurred  to  me  that,  if  I  could  find 
any  way  to  hollow  it  out,  it  would  make  a  very  convenient 
house ;  and  I  determined,  as  soon  as  I  had  time  to  look  about 
me  a  little,  to  make  the  trial. 

At  present  the  want  of  something  to  eat  was  a  much  more 
pressing  consideration.  While  pleasant  weather  lasted  we 
could  do  very  well  without  a  shelter  ;  but,  unless  I  soon  suc 
ceeded  in  obtaining  food,  there  was  danger  of  our  perishing 
of  starvation.  I  should  have  gone  at  once  in  search  of  fruits, 
which  I  had  no  doubt  the  island  yielded  in  abundance ;  but, 
fearing  lest  Alice  should  awake  in  my  absence,  and  be  alarmed 
at  finding  herself  alone,  I  concluded  to  wait  till  we  had  eaten 
our  frugal  breakfast,  and  then,  if  she  felt  strong  enough,  we 
could  prosecute  our  search  together. 

As  I  approached  the  lake,  I  saw  that  she  was  awake,  and 
apparently  engaged  in  earnest  conversation  with  the  bear,  who 
had  rejoined  her  during  my  absence.  I  was  the  more  pleased 
at  this  discovery,  as  I  had  begun  already  to  feel  the  want  of 
his  society,  and  feared  that  he  had  entirely  forsaken  us.  At 
the  same  time  I  could  not  wholly  banish  a  sensation  of  fear  at 
seeing  the  huge  creature  thus  restored  to  liberty,  and  in 
such°close  proximity  to  my  gentle  Alice.  While  we  were  at 
sea  I  trusted  to  the  novelty  of  his  position  and  closeness  of  his 


SIIELL-FISII. 


quarters  to  restrain  his  natural  ferocity ;  but  once  more  in  his 
native  woods,  I  knew  not  how  soon  his  true  character  might 
display  itself. 

But  I  did  the  poor  fellow  gross  injustice.  He  no  sooner 
saw  me  coming  than  he  sprang  forward  to  meet  me,  showing 
his  satisfaction  by  a  thousand  uncouth  gambols,  that  left  no 
doubt  of  the  kindness  of  his  intentions,  and  made  me  heartily 
ashamed  of  my  injurious  suspicions.  From  his  gay  and  frisky 
demeanor,  so  different  from  the  temper  in  which  we  had  last 
parted,  I  felt  sure  that  he  had  found  means  to  break  his  fust ; 
and,  on  examining  his  claws,  I  saw  at  once  that,  in  spite  of 
his  long  confinement,  he  had  not  yet  forgotten  his  early  train 
ing,  but  was  still  as  good  at  digging  roots  as  ever.  I  felt 
rather  hurt  that  he  had  not  thought  of  bringing  us  a  portion ; 
but  then  he  probably  supposed  that,  as  we  had  never  been 
used  to  that  sort  of  food,  we  should  not  care  anything  about 
it. 

I  found  Alice  much  refreshed  by  her  night's  rest ;  but  still 
too  weak  to  undertake  any  such  journey  as  I  had  proposed  ; 
and  as  I  could  not  think  of  leaving  her  alone,  and  felt  myself 
also  incapable  of  any  great  exertion,  we  were  both  glad  enough 
to  stretch  our  languid  limbs  under  the  shadow  of  the  trees, 
iust  within  the  edge  of  the  wood,  where  we  remained  nearly 
the  whole  day,  in  a  half  torpid  state,  between  sleeping  and 
waking,  without  sufficient  energy  to  think,  or  even  to  talk. 

Towards  evening,  walking  along  the .  shore  of  the  lake,  I 
found  growing  to  the  rocks  a  sort  of  shell-fish,  resembling  the 
oyster,  though  not  more  than  half  as  large.  I  ate  a  few,  by 
way  of  relish,  with  my  biscuit,  and  with  some  difficulty  per 
suaded  Alice  to  do  the  same ;  though,  as  she  had  never  eaten 
anything  of  the  kind  before,  it  cost  her  no  slight  effort  to  mus 
ter  courage. 


gQ  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

They  seemed  to  do  us  both  a  great  deal  of  good,  however, 
for  when  we  woke  the  next  morning  we  felt  so  much  stronger 
that  we  could  hardly  believe  that  a  single  night  would  have 
made  such  a  difference.  All  that  day  we  talked  incessantly. 
Alice's  curiosity  seemed  now  thoroughly  aroused,  and  the 
questions  she  asked  me,  which  were  such  as  would  naturally 
suggest  themselves  under  such  circumstances,  first  showed  me 
how  little  I  really  knew  in  regard  to  our  situation. 

I  answered  them  all,  however,  to  the  best  of  my  ability, 
and,  indeed,  I  rather  went  beyond  it;  partly  to  set  her  mind 
at  rest,  and  partly  because  I  would  not  have  her  think  me 
ignorant  of  any  subject  whatever. 

b  So  I  told  her,  first,  that  we  were  on  an  island,  which  sur 
prised  her  a  great  deal,  though  she  knew  very  well  that  we 
had  sailed  round  it ;  secondly,  that  it  was  somewhere,  as  I 
believed,  in  the  Southern  Hemisphere ;  thirdly,  that  it  was 
very  beautiful ;  and,  finally,  that  we  should  probably  have  to 
remain  there  a  long  time. 

But  were  there  any  tigers,  or  lions,  or  other  wild  beasts,  on 
the  island? 

About  this  I  could  not  speak  with  any  certainty;  but, 
as  we  had  neither  seen  nor  heard  them,  and  I  could  not 
think  of  any  way  in  which  they  could  ever  have  got  there,  I 
rather  thought  that  our  bear  must  be  the  only  one  of  his  kind. 
«  I  am  sure  he  is  not  a  wild  beast,"  said  Alice ;  »  he  is  as 
gentle  as  a  lamb.  Here— but  what  shall  we  call  him ?  Don't 
you  think  he  ought  to  have  a  name  ?  " 

«  Yes,"  I  replied,  "  I  think  it  would  be  perhaps  as  well; 
suppose  we  call  him  Captain?" 
«« I  like  Hamlet  better." 

"Very  well;    then  Hamlet  let  it  be;— the   melancholy 
Prince  of  Denmark.     That  suits  his  character  exactly." 


ADAM   AND   EVE.  87 

In  conversation  like  this  the  day  was  gone  before  we  were 
aware.  By  this  long  rest  our  strength  and  spirits  seemed 
completely  restored,  and  we  determined  the  next  morning  to 
set  out  on  our  journey  of  discovery.  We  slept  quietly  all  the 
night,  and,  awakening  at  the  earliest  dawn,  I  aroused  my 
companions,  and,  throwing  the  axe  over  my  shoulder,  I  began 
at  once  to  ascentf  the  rugged  path  that  led  to  the  plateau. 
Alice  kept  close  at  my  side,  and  Hamlet  came  waddling  after. 
I  stopped  a  moment  to  show  Alice  the  wonderful  gourds  that 
had  given  me  such  a  fright,  and  then  crossing  the  plateau  we 
entered  the  woods  and  began  to  descend  into  the  valley.  If 
it  had  seemed  beautiful  to  me  before,  how  much  more  beauti 
ful  it  was  now,  when  I  saw  it  with  my  charming  Alice  !  So 
must  Paradise  have  looked  to  Adam,  when,  after  days  or 
weeks  of  solitary  enjoyment,  he  first  walked  forth  with  Eve 
tripping  modestly  by  his  side. 

And  in  some  respects  I  had  the  advantage  even  of  Adam  ; 
for  whereas  he  had  never  known  any  other  world  than  that, 
and  of  course  missed  all  the  joys  of  contrast,  my  happiness 
was  infinitely  enhanced  by  the  recollection  of  the  bitterness, 
and  strife,  and  uproar  of  the  world  I  had  so  lately  left.  Here 
all  was  peace,  and  love,  and  harmony.  There  was  nothing  to 
excite  either  pride,  or  envy,  or  ambition.  The  poet's  wish  was 
mine,  "  The  lodge  in  some  vast  wilderness,"  where  rumor  of 
successful  or  unsuccessful  war  might  never  reach  me  more. 
The  stormy  winds  of  passion  and  temptation  could  never  again 
agitate  my  soul.  From  that  calm  retreat  I  surveyed,  with 
pity  and  disdain,  the  petty  cares  and  troubles  with  which  my 
unhappy  fellows  wore  out  their  miserable  lives. 

Besides,  Adam  and  his  wife  were  perfectly  sinless  beings, 
and  I  did  not  sec  how  they  could  ever  have  felt  that  mysteri 
ous  shyness,  that  coy  reserve,  that  came  in  with  the  fall,  and 


THE   NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD. 

which  add  such  a  delicious  poignancy  to  all  the  joys  of  love. 
Certainly,  if  anything  could  compensate  for  the  infinite  loss 
inflicted  upon  mankind  by  the  simple  tasting  of  that  fatal 
apple,  it  was  this.  A  perfectly  intellectual  love  must  needs  be 
insipid,  as  a  love  without  virtue  must  be  coarse  and  brutish. 

We  made  no  haste  to  reach  the  bottom  of  the  valley.  Alice 
stopped  continually  to  fill  her  hands  with  flowers,  which  she 
had  no  sooner  gathered  than  she  threw  them  away  to  replace 
them  by  fresh  ones,  that  seemed  yet  more  beautiful.  Though 
most  of  them  were  strange  to  her,  as  they  had  been  to  me,  yet 
she  now  and  then  came  to  one  that  she  had  no  difficulty  in 
recognizing  as  an  old  acquaintance,  and  her  joy  at  this  unex 
pected  meeting  was  delightful  to  behold. 

"  Ah !  "  she  exclaimed,  as  she  stooped  to  pluck  a  modest 
little  flower,  not  half  so  handsome  as  a  thousand  others  she  had 
passed  without  notice,  "  here  is  a  lily  precisely  like  one  I  used 
to  have  in  my  garden  at  home  ;  who  knows  but  what  they 
arc  near  relations  ?  cousins  at  least,  I  dare  say.  How  I  wish 
it  could  only  speak  and  tell  me !  " 

I  could  not  help  smiling  at  this  fond  conceit,  but  I  was 
really  too  hungry  to  share  her  enthusiasm ;  so,  leaving  her  to 
amuse  herself  with  this  congenial  occupation,  I  kept  my  eyes 
busy  on  every  side,  in  hopes  of  discovering  what  possessed  for 
me  far  superior  attractions.  My  search  was  not  long  unsuc 
cessful.  On  reaching  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  we  bent  our  steps 
towards  the  little  brook,  that  we  could  now  hear  babbling  to 
itself  at  no  great  distance.  Our  way  led  through  what  seemed 
at  first  a  grove  of  lofty  trees,  whose  spreading  branches,  inter 
lacing  each  other,  covered  all  the  ground  with  an  impenetrable 
shade.  Here  Hamlet  stopped,  and  began  to  smell  about  him 
with  such  eagerness,  that  I  felt  sure  he  must  be  on  the  eve  of 
some  great  discovery.  The  next  moment  he  commenced  eat- 


THE    BANIAN    TREE.  89 

ing  something  he  had  found  among  the  leaves,  and,  from  the 
way  lie  smacked  his  lips,  I  concluded  that  it  must  be  unusu 
ally  good ;  so,  throwing  myself  on  my  hands  and  knees,  with 
my  eyes  close  to  the  ground,  I  sought  to  find  what  this  wonder 
ful  thing  could  be. 

"  Ah  !  "  I  exclaimed,  smacking  my  lips  in  concert  with  the 
bear,  though  I  had  not  yet  tasted  the  delicious  morsel. 

"  AVhat  is  it  ?  "  cried  Alice. 

Without  speaking,  I  held  up  what  I  had  found,  for  her 
admiration. 

"  What  is  it?"  she  again  demanded. 

"  Figs,  I  think  !  "  I  replied  somewhat  doubtfully  ;  for  I  had 
never  seen  any  of  the  fresh  fruit  before,  and  therefore  could 
not  be  quite  positive  how  it  looked. 

"Figs?" 

"  Yes,  figs  ;  and  as  thick  as  hops !  " 

"  But  are  they  good  ?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed  ;  don't  you  see  how  Hamlet  is  eating  them  ? 
lie  is  a  wise  bear.  I  dare  say  he  never  saw  a  fig  before  in 
his  life  ;  but  he  knows  they  were  made  to  eat  as  well  as  if 
he  had  never  eaten  anything  else.  But,  don't  eat  too  many; 
I  'in  afraid  they  will  make  you  sick." 

I  am  sorry  to  say  that  we  neither  of  us  regarded  this  cau 
tion.  We  sat  down  and  ate  till  we  could  eat  no  more,  and 
afterwards  amused  ourselves  with  throwing  figs  at  the  bear, 
and  seeing  him  catch  them,  one  by  one,  in  his  capacious  jaws. 

u  Who  would  ever  have  thought,"  said  I,  "  of  a  bear's  eat 
ing  figs  ?  "  Whereupon,  he  looked  at  me,  as  much  as  to  say, 
"  What  in  the  world  are  you  laughing  at  ?  Why  should  n't 
I  eat  figs  as  well  as  you  ?  I  know  what  is  good  as  well  as 
other  folks  !  " 

"  0,  well,"  I  cried,  "  eat  as  many  as  you  like  ;  only  don't 


90  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

go  to  making  yourself  sick,  for  there  is  no  doctor  on  the 
island;  besides,  we  shall  want  some  for  to-morrow." 

"  There  are  plenty  more,"  said  Alice,  "  if  we  could  only 
reach  them.  But  my  poor,  dear  grandfather  !  how  I  wish  he 
could  have  some  !  " 

"  Was  he  very  fond  of  figs  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  0,  yes !  I  believe  he  liked  them  better  than  anything  else 
in  the  world.  But,  only  look  !  "  she  added,  after  a  pause, 
"  just  see  how  thick  they  are  !  " 

I  looked  up,  as  she  requested,  and,  sure  enough,  the 
branches  seemed  fairly  bending  with  the  weight. 

"  But  how  strangely  these  trees  grow  !  "  I  cried  ;  "  they 
look  as  if  they  had  grown  into  each  other.  Ah  !  I  know  now  ; 
it  must  be  the  banian  tree,  and  this  whole  grove  probably  grew 
from  a  single  trunk,  —  that  large  one  yonder,  I  fancy  ;  it  looks 
as  if  it  might  be  a  great-great-grandfather ;  and  all  the  rest 
are  his  descendants.  Let  us  count  them,  and  see  how  many 
there  are." 

I  wonder  if  I  ever  shall  forget  anything  that  happened 
there  ?  It  seems  to  me  that  I  remember  every  word,  every 
look,  and  every  gesture,  as  well  as  if  it  had  been  no  longer 
ago  than  yesterday. 

Besides  the  central  trunk,  which  was  much  larger  than  any 
of  the  others,  being,  at  least,  seven  or  eight  feet  in  diameter, 
we  found  about  thirty  of  a  very  considerable  size,  and  a  large 
number  of  smaller  ones,  some  already  rooted  in  the  earth,  and 
others  still  suspended  from  the  branches.  The  quantity  of 
figs  was  enormous,  and  enough  to  furnish  us  with  all  the  food 
we  should  require  for  months ;  and  I  determined,  as  soon  as 
they  were  sufficiently  ripe,  to  gather  arid  dry  as  many  as  I 
could. 

The  greatest  difficulty  in  the  way  of  this  undertaking,  was 


INCONVENIENCES   OF    SAVAGE    LIFE.  91 

the  want  of  something  to  put  them  in ;  and  I  began  now,  for 
the  first  time,  to  perceive  the  astonishing  inconveniences  of 
our  situation.  If  I  had  been  at  home,  I  should  at  once  have 
gone  to  my  mother  for  a  basket,  and  thought  nothing  of  it ; 
but  now,  the  only  way  of  obtaining  such  an  article  was  to 
make  it  myself.  I  was  not  at  all  sure  that  I  could  do  this  ; 
at  any  rate,  I  should  be  weeks  about  it,  and  it  would  be  a  poor 
affair  after  all. 

And  yet  a  basket  was  one  of  the  simplest  things  that  could 
be  imagined.  There  were  a  hundred  others,  of  every-day  use, 
and  which  I  should  once  have  thought  it  impossible  to  do 
without,  that  were  now  entirely  beyond  my  reach.  I  could 
not  even  do  so  easy  a  thing  as  make  a  box  or  basket  of  any 
description  ;  and,  as  for  making  a  saw  or  hatchet,  or  even  a 
nail,  I  might  as  well  attempt  to  make  a  steam-engine.  My 
only  tools  were  an  axe  and  jackknife,  neither  of  them  very 
sharp;  and  my  only  utensils,  the  keg  that  held  our  water,  and 
the  bag  in  which  we  kept  our  biscuit.  For  a  common  basket, 
such  as  I  could  have  bought  in  Boston  for  quarter  of  a  dollar, 
I  would  have  given  half  my  kingdom. 

I  longed  also  for  a  hammer  and  nails,  for  a  few  boards,  and 
a  saw  to  cut  them,  for  fire-arms  and  ammunition,  a  good  supply 
of  clothing,  a  few  utensils  to  be  used  in  cooking,  and  imr.iy 
other  things,  the  value  of  which  we  never  know  till  we  have 
to  do  without  them.  But  now  I  must  see  how  far  my  inge 
nuity  could  supply  their  place.  I  considered  that  the  real 
wants  of  man  were  very  few,  and,  though  ours  had  been  sadly 
multiplied  by  our  unnatural  education,  yet  I  had  no  doubt 
that  a  short  time  would  suffice  to  restore  us  to  that  state  of 
happy  simplicity  so  much  commended  by  philosophers. 

With  this  consoling  reflection,  which  I  lost  no  time  in  com 
municating  to  Alice,  we  left  the  grove,  and  followed  down  the 


THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 


course  of  the  brook,  where  our  senses  were  charmed  by  the 
new  forms  of  beauty  it  constantly  assumed  ;  now  spreading 
out  into  a  miniature  lake,  now  nearly  lost  among  the  trees, 
and  now  fretting,  in  mimic  anger,  over  its  pebbly  bed,  or  flash- 
in<*  in  foamy  cascades  down  the  channelled  rocks. 

^The  woods  on  either  hand  were  alive,  and  vocal  with  birds 
in  endless  variety;  but,  among  them  all,  the  parrot  and 
macaw  were  the  only  ones  with  which  I  was  at  all  familiar. 
They  manifested  no  alarm  at  our  approach,  until  we  came  close 
to  them,  when  they  would  move  off  a  few  steps  with  an  air  of 
perfect  unconcern.  Apes  and  monkeys  chattered  at  us  as  we 
passed,  and  seemed  disposed  to  claim  the  honor  of  relationship  ; 
but,  at  sight  of  the  bear,  they  fled  screaming  to  the  highest 
branches,  where  they  remained  at  a  safe  distance  till  the 
object  of  their  fears  was  no  longer  in  sight. 

I  was  not  a  little  disturbed  on  witnessing  their  alarm,  as  it 
seemed  to  show  that  the  island  was  infested  by  beasts  of  prey 
large  enough  to  be  formidable  even  to  man.  But,  after  all, 
it  might  be  only  their  instinctive  dread  of  a  dangerous  enemy  ; 
and,  "on  the  whole,  I  concluded  to  say  nothing  about  it  to 
Alice,  as  it  could  do  no  good,  and  would  be  sure  to  fill  her 
mind  with  needless  apprehensions. 

The  only  quadrupeds  we  had  seen  thus  far  were  a  species 
of  antelope,  a  small  animal  resembling  the  hare,  and  another 
which  I  supposed  must  be  the  hedgehog,  though  I  was  not 
sure.  They  all  seemed  rather  shy,  but,  as  the  bear  kept  most 
of  the  time  close  at  our  side,  I  could  not  tell  whether  they 
were  afraid  of  him  or  of  us.  Besides  these,  we  saw  a  prodig 
ious  number  of  lizards,  some  not  larger  than  one's  little  finger, 
and  others  two  or  three  feet  long,  and  as  thick  as  a  man's 

After  proceeding  about  two  miles,  we  came  to  a  thick  growth 


arm. 


A    TROPICAL   SUNSET.  93 

of  cane  or  bamboo,  where  we  found  the  walking  extremely 
difficult ;  and,  as  Alice  was  now  very  much  fatigued,  owing  to 
her  previous  exhaustion,  we  determined  to  go  no  further  at 
present,  but  to  return,  and  finish  our  tour  on  some  other  occa 
sion.  We  stopped  under  the  banian  tree  to  fill  our  pockets 
with  the  fallen  fruit,  intending  then  to/ resume  our  journey  ; 
but,  tempted  by  that  delicious  shade,  we  lingered  there  till 
long  after  the  sun  had  passed  the  meridian,  and  it  was  at  least 
four  o'clock  (though  "  what  has  a  clock  to  do  in  the  forest?  "), 
when  we  began  to  bethink  us  of  our  homeward  journey. 

The  sun  was  already  setting  when  we  reached  the  plateau, 
and  we  could  not  help  stopping  one  moment  to  feast  our  eyes 
on  his  dying  glories. 

Some  writer  —  Ruskin,  I  think  it  is  —  asserts  that,  how 
ever  beautiful  a  sunset  may  be,  we  cannot  long  retain  it  in  our 
recollection.  Its  forms  of  loveliness  fade  from  our  memories 
almost  as  soon  as  they  fade  away  in  heaven. 

But  I  remember  that  particular  sunset  almost  as  well  as  if 
I  had  seen  it  yesterday.  It  filled  up  the  whole  western  open 
ing  of  the  valley,  between  whose  darkly-wooded  sides  it  seemed 
framed  like  a  picture.  Its  delicate  shades  of  orange,  and  pur 
ple,  and  gold,  were  so  artfully  blended  as  to  require  no  aid 
from  the  imagination  ;  and,  as  we  reached  the  summit  of  the 
hill,  and  turned  to  look  towards  the  sea,  we  both  at  once  ex 
claimed,  "  What  a  charming  sunset !  It  looks  exactly  like  an 
orchard." 

Yes,  just  such  an  orchard  as  I  had  often  visited  in  my  happy 
boyish  days.  A  piece  of  ground,  rocky  and  uneven,  unfit  for 
cultivation,  but  where  the  red  and  yellow  apples  grew  ripe 
and  mellow  through  the  long,  long  summer  day.  A  high 
background  of  hills,  —  the  hills  of  New  England,  —  nearer  to 
heaven  than  Horeb  or  Sinai,  fit  home  of  the  pilgrim  fathers, 


94  THE   NEW   AGE    OF   GOLD. 

and  which  filled  the  mighty  heart  and  warm  imagination  of 
Webster  with  so  much  of  their  own  nobleness,  as  not  all  the 
allurements  of  a  false  ambition  could  ever  entirely  overcome. 
In  the  foreground  was  an  inland  sea,  with  a  double  line  of 
railroad  running  along  the  coast. 

The  whole  remained  with  scarcely  any  change  for  several 
minutes,  and  then  gradually  faded  from  our  sight.  The  hills 
sunk,  the  trees  were  blasted. 

But  still  the  purple  and  the  gold  wrought  more  gorgeous 
forms  to  charm  our  fancies,  as  if  bent  on  recalling  our  attention 
to  the  scene  before  us ;  but  we  heeded  them  not,  for  our  eyes 
were  with  our  hearts,  and  they  were  far  away.  A  tender 
melancholy  had  taken  possession  of  our  souls.  As  I  looked 
at  Alice,  and  found  her  eyes  also  fixed  on  mine,  I  had  no  need 
to  ask  the  subject  of  her  thoughts.  She  *  was  all  of  home 
there  was  left  to  me,  and  I  was  all  that  remained  to  her.  ^  I 
took  her  hand  in  mine,  and  held  it  there,  like  a  little  bird 
struggling  to  be  free,  yet  glad  to  stay.  "  Dear  Alice !  "  She 
said  not  a  word,  but  her  eyes  were  each  a  world  of  meaning. 
Could  I  ever  forget  that  sunset  ? 

We  spent  this  night  like  the  last,  though  Hamlet  being  with 
us  somewhat  relieved  our  loneliness.  But,  before  I  went  to 
sleep,  I  thought  over  our  situation,  and  laid  my  plans  for  the 
morrow.  The  more  I  pondered  the  subject,  the  more  I  was 
satisfied  that  there  were  wild  beasts  on  the  island,  and  the  more 
I  felt  the  necessity  of  guarding  against  their  attacks.  In  the 
day-time  we  were  comparatively  safe;  but  at  night,  what  was 
to  hinder  our  falling  an  easy  prey? 

Besides,  I  knew  not  how  soon  the  rainy  season  might  be 
upon  us;  and,  when  it  did  come,  some  sort  of  shelter  would 
be  absolutely  necessary.  But  how  should  I  go  to^work  to 
make  a  house  that  would  answer  the  purpose?  I  might  con- 


FORMING    PLANS. 

struct  a  framework  of  poles,  and  cover  it  with  branches ;  but 
I  doubted  whether  I  could  nuike  it  close  enough  to  keep  out 
the  rain,  or  strong  enough  to  withstand  the  fury  of  a  tropical 
tempest.  And,  even  it'  I  could,  it  would  still  be  a  dark,  un 
comfortable  dwelling,  good  enough,  perhaps,  for  savages  to 
live  in,  but  not  at  all  fitted  for  the  habitation  of  my  dainty 
Alice. 

I  had  not  sufficient  canvas  to  make  a  tent,  and,  on  the 
whole,  I  could  think  of  nothing  that  pleased  me  so  well  as 
the  plan  I  have  already  mentioned,  of  hollowing  out  one  of 
the  gigantic  gourds  I  had  discovered,  by  which  we  should 
obtain  a  light  and  airy  chamber,  impervious  to  rain,  and  large 
enough  for  every  essential  purpose. 

I  determined  to  make  the  experiment  the  very  next  morn 
ing,  and  then  set  myself  to  thinking  of  someway  in  which  to 
keep  an  account  of  our  time.  llobinson  Crusoe,  I  remem 
bered,  had  notched  his  days  and  weeks  upon  a  post;  but  that 
seemed  to  me  altogether  too  much  trouble,  and  I  knew,  if  I 
thought  long  enough,  I  could  think  of  one  far  more  simple. 

At  length  I  found  one  that  was  simplicity  itself.  All  I 
wanted  was  a  few  shells,  and  a  number  of  pebbles.  Every 
morning  I  would  put  a  pebble  into  the  first  shell,  till  the  end 
of  the  week,  when  I  would  empty  them  out  and  begin  again. 
Once  a  week  I  would  put  a  pebble  into  the  second  shell,  and 
once  a  month  into  the  third.  As  this  task  would  be  perfectly 
easy,  and  I  thought  that  she  would  be  more  likely  to  remem 
ber  it,  T  determined  to  entrust  it  to  Alice;  and,  with  this 
resolve,  I  fell  asleep. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

A  short  Way  of  Building  a  House.  —  Alice's  Delight.  —  The  Bear's  In 
difference. —  Our  Almanac.  —  My  Extravagant  Behavior.  —  An  Even 
ing  Stroll. — The  Seashore.  —  Solitude.  —  A  Surprise.  —  Brevity  Bill. 
My  Vexation.  —  A  Happy  Thought.  —  An  Argument.  —  Alice  Singing. 
— The  Advantages  of  being  Fat. 

I  ROSE  the  next  morning  as  soon  as  it  was  light,  and  has 
tened  to  the  plateau,  full  of  eagerness  to  commence  my  opera 
tions.  I  selected  the  biggest  of  the  gourds,  and,  having  first 
marked  out  the  size  of  the  door  with  my  knife,  I  took  the  axe 
and  proceeded  to  chop  away  the  rind.  I  found  the  task  much 
lighter  than  I  had  expected;  for,  after  cutting  through  the 
outer  shell,  which,  though  very  hard  and  tough,  was  not  more 
than  an-  inch  in  thickness,  I  came  to  an  inner  coat  of  a  softer 
and  more  spongy  fibre,  and  closely  resembling  the  shell  of  a 
chestnut.  This  inner  coat  was  about  three  times  as  thick  as 
the  outer.  Within  this,  there  was  an  open  space  of  some  six 
or  seven  inches,  as  if  the  meat  had  shrunk  away  like  a  dried 
filbert. 

The  meat  itself  was  as  hard  as  a  raw  potato,  though  of 
coarser  texture,  and  had  a  sweet,  nutty  flavor,  not  unlike  that 
of  the  common  artichoke.  When  boiled  or  roasted,  I  thought 

o 

it  would  prove  quite  palatable  and  nutritious,  and  I  deter 
mined  to  save  a  portion  of  it  for  further  trial. 


SHORT    WAY    OF   BUILDING   A    HOUSE.  97 

I  cut  it  out  in  large,  square  pieces,  and  piled  them  up  loosely 
m  the  open  air,  that  they  might  dry  the  faster,  till,  after  an 
lour's  hard  work,  the  last  fragment  was  removed,  and  I  found 
myself  the  owner  of  as  commodious  a  little  house  as  could  be 
imagined,  seven  feet  high  in  the  centre,  rather  more  than  that 
in  diameter,  and  abundantly  large  enough  to  contain  all  the 
furniture  we  seemed  likely  to  possess. 

For  greater  security,  I  made  the  door  only  just  b,V  enough 
for  us  to  enter  ;  and,  as  this  did  not  admit  sufficient  lio-ht  and 
ur,  I  determined,  at  some  time  or  other,  to  cut  a  window  in 
the  side,  but,  at  present,  I  was  too  impatient  to  bring  Alice 
into  her  new  house,  to  wait  for  any  further  improvement 

We  made  a  hearty  breakfast  of  figs  and  the  remainder  of 
our  biscuit,  and,  while  we  were  eating  them,  she  asked  me 
what  I  had  been  doing  to  get  so  tired.  I  told  her  that  I  had 
been  working,  but  did  not  say  where ;  and,  after  a  while,  I 
proposed  that  we  should  take  a  walk,  to  which  she  at  on'ce 
assented.  We  ascended  the  hill  together,  but,  on  comin*  near 
the  house,  I  managed  to  get  before  her  and  throw  myself  into 
it  while  she  was  yet  on  the  outside  of  the  hedge.  A  large 
bush,  which  I  drew  before  the  door,  entirely  concealed  it  from 
her  view,  so  that  when  she  entered  the  enclosure  and  looked 
wound  her,  she  was  quite  at  a  loss  to  account  for  my  myste- 
rious  disappearance. 

After  enjoying,  a  while,  her  perplexity  and  wonder,  I  called 
to  her  by  name;  but  this,  instead  of  betraying  my  where- 
abouts,  only  increased  her  confusion,  till,  at  last,  unable  to 
contain  myself  any  longer,  I  pushed  aside  the  bushes,  and 
gravely  invited  her  to  enter. 

At  first  she  could  hardly  believe  her  own  senses  at  my  surpris 
ing  reappearance,  but  presently,  mustering  courage,  she  entered 
9 


98  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

the   gourd,   when  her  delight   and   admiration,   if  possible, 

exceeded  my  own. 

After  her,  came  the  boar,  apparently  disposed  to  make  him 
self  very  much  at  home,  and  not  at  all  inclined  to  be  surprised 
at  anything.  He  had  no  sooner  got  inside  the  door,  which  he 
could  not  pass  without  some  squeezing,  than  he  stretched  him 
self  out  at  full  length  in  the  middle  of  our  parlor,  with  an 
air  of  most  perfect  nonchalance,  as  if  he  had  never  lived  any 
where  but  in  a  gourd  all  the  days  of  his  life. 

I  was  more  vexed  with  him  for  this  than  T  had  ever  been 
before  ;  for  I  never  could  endure  your  great  travellers,  who  are 
too  wise  to  show  any  astonishment ;  and  I  thought  he  might, 
at  least,  have  condescended  to  give  some  slight  token  of  ap 
probation,  after  all  my  labor. 

This  was  not  the  last  time,  either,  that  he  tried  my  patience 
in  the  same  way ;  but  I  got  used  to  it  after  a  while,  and  con 
soled  myself  with  the  reflection  that  it  was  not  owing  to  any 
want  of  kindness  on  his  part,  but  proceeded  entirely  from 
heedlessness  and  inadvertence. 

"  Yes,"  I  said  to  myself,  "  you  are  a  good  fellow  as  ever 
lived,  and  I  am  a  fool  to  doubt  your  kindness ;  but  I  do  wish 
you  had  a  little  more  refinement  and  delicacy  of  feeling." 

If  I  had  known  him  then  as  well  as  I  do  now,  or  if  I  could 
have  foreseen  the  overwhelming  weight  of  obligation  he  was 
about  to  impose  upon  me,  I  should  never  have  thought  of 
finding  fault  with  so  slight  a  failing. 

After  making  the  window,  which  occupied  me  about  an 
lour,  I  assisted  Alice  in  collecting  a  quantity  of  dried  grass 
md  slender  branches,  with  which  I  proposed  to  make  our 
;eds.  Hers,  I  arranged  within  the  house,  but,  as  for  myself 
md  Hamlet,  we  made  up  our  minds  to  sleep,  for  the  present, 
ust  outside  the  door. 


MY  EXTRA VAQANT  BEHAVIOR.  99 

Our  house  was  now  all  ready  to  receive  our  furniture,  and, 
with  no  small  pride  and  exultation,  we  hastened  to  bring  it 
from  the  boat.  There  was  not  much  of  it,  to  be  sure;  but,°on 
some  accounts,  this  was  all  the  better,  since,  if  there  had 
been  ^much  more,  we  should  not  have  known  where  to  put  it, 

I  provided,  also,  at  the  same  time,  the  necessary  supply  of 
shells  and  pebbles,  and,  having  arranged  our  almanac,  and 
showed  Alice  how  to  use  it,  I  had  nothing  loft  io  do  till  din 
ner  but  to  sit  down  comfortably  and  admire  my  own  handi 
work. 

But  my  satisfaction  was  too  great  to  allow  me  to  remain 
quiet  more  than  a  few  moments  at  a  time.  First,  I  must  sec 
how  the  house  looked  on  the  outside,  and  then  how  it  looked 
within.  When  I  looked  out  of  the  window,  I  was  enchanted 
with  the  fine  prospect  of  the  valley  and  the  sea  ;  and  when  I 
looked  in,  I  was  equally  enchanted  at  sight  of  that  fairy  little 
chamber,  and  Alice  sitting  in  the  middle  of  the  floor. 

I  went  in  and  out  continually,  for  the  mere  pleasure  of 
going  through  the  door.  I  beat  a  tattoo  with  my  knuckles  on 
the  outer  shell,  to  show  how  hard  it  was,  and  drew  my  fingers 
gently  over  the  inside  to  feel  its  velvet  softness ;  and,  in 
short,  conducted  myself  so  absurdly,  that  Alice  at  last  lost  all 
patience,  and  begged  me,  if  I  had  any  regard  for  her  comfort, 
to  sit  down  and  enjoy  myself  like  a  rational  being. 

The  heat  of  the  sun  was  too  great,  during  the  middle  of  the 
day,  to  admit  of  our  stirring  about  a  great  deal,  but  a  giant 
mangrove  *  that  stretched  its  long,  gnarled  branches  over 
head,  effectually  secured  us  from  his  rays,  while  our  elevated 

I  always  called  this  tree  a  mangrove,  not  because  it  was  one,  but 
imply  because  I  knew  not  what  else  to  call  it,  and  fancied  that  there  was 
;rtam  resemblance  between  it  and  the  word.     If  it  did  not  look  like  a 
mangrove,  I  can  only  say  that  it  looked  as  a  mangrove  ought  to  look 


100  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

position  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  island,  gave  us  the  full 
benefit  of  the  constant  trade  winds. 

Towards  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  the  sloping  shadows 
tempted  us  to  leave  our  leafy  shelter  for  an  evening  walk. 
Calling  to  the  bear,  who  came  bounding  after  us  like  a  dog, 
we  set  off  in  an  opposite  direction  from  that  which  we  had 
taken  before,  hoping  soon  to  reach  the  eastern  shore  of  the 
island,  and  thus  obtain  a  near  prospect  of  the  sea. 

The  path  was  extremely  difficult,  being  perplexed  by  tan 
gled  underwood  and  vines,  and  we  had  begun  to  despair  of 
effecting  our  purpose,  when  the  sight  of  more  open  country 
beyond,  encouraged  us  to  persevere,  and  the  next  moment  we 
came  out  on  a  lofty  bluff  overlooking  the  sea,  and  with  the 
waves  beating  ceaselessly  against  its  base.  Weary  with  our 
long  walk,  we  gladly  threw  ourselves  down  upon  a  projecting 
crag,  and  sat  for  many  minutes  in  silence,  listening  to  the 
voice  of  the  waters  as  if  it  had  been  the  voice  of  God. 

The  effects  which  the  sight  and  sound  of  the  sea  naturally 
produce  upon  a  thoughtful  mind,  were  now  infinitely  height 
ened  by  the  utter  loneliness  of  our  situation. 

It  seemed  as  if  we  could  gaze  our  very  souls  away.  We 
breathed  a  larger,  purer  air,  that  had  never  been  polluted  by 
a  human  breath.  We  no  longer  drank  of  the  swollen  stream 
of  life,  turbid  with  the  feet  of  dusty  pilgrims,  thick  and  mud 
dy  with  the  impurities  of  a  thousand  years ;  we  had  gone 
back  to  the  very  fountain-head  of  existence,  and,  like  the 
fabled  fountain  of  life,  it  seemed  to  send  the  blood  dancing 
with  fresh  vigor  through  our  veins. 

There  was  something  to  me  indescribably  delightful  in  the 
thought  that  here  we  were  perfectly  safe  from  all  intrusion ; 
that  the  island  was  as  exclusively  our  own  as  if  it  had  been 
surrounded  by  a  wall  a  hundred  miles  in  height,  and  that,  go 


A    SURPRISE.  101 

where  we  pleased,  we  should  not  be  disturbed  by  sight  of  a 
single  human  being,  or  anything  else  to  break  the  magic  charm 
of  solitude  with  which  it  was  invested. 

The  woods  were  mine,  —  the  sloping  hills,  gray  rocks,  and 
sparkling  brooks.  The  modest  little  flower  by  my  side  looked 
up  confidingly  in  my  face ;  the  great  strong  waves  came  hum 
bly  suing  for  my  regard.  There  was  a  strange  bond  between 
us.  Those  beauties  were  for  me  alone.  As  a  lover  with  his 
mistress,  I  brooked  no  divided  affection. 

From  this  delicious  dream  of  happiness  I  was  at  once 
aroused,  and  in  the  most  startling  and  unexpected  manner. 

We  sat,  as  I  have  just  said,  on  the  edge  of  the  cliff,  with 
our  feet  hanging  down  over  the  sea.  With  Alice  pressed 
close  by  my  side,  for  fear  that  she  should  fall,  1  heard  nothing 
but  her  low  breathing,  and  the  hoarse  murmur  of  the  waves. 

We  were  so  far  from  all  the  world  beside  that  we  seemed 
all  the  nearer  to  each  other,  and,  in  the  absence  of  every 
other  attraction,  I  sometimes  thought  our  hearts  would  grow 
together. 

But  all  at  once,  between  two  waves,  I  thought  I  hoard  some 
one  singing  just  under  where  we  were  sitting.  It  seemed, 
however,  so  utterly  incredible,  that  I  at  first  regarded  it 
simply  as  a  freak  of  my  imagination ;  but  in  a  few  minutes  I 
heard  it  again,  and  this  time  so  distinctly,  that  there  was  no 
longer  any  room  for  doubt. 

But  who  could  it  be?  Was  the  island,  after  all,  inhabited, 
or  was  it  some  shipwrecked  sailor,  who  had  there  been  cast 
ashore,  and  was  unable,  owing  to  the  steepness  of  the  cliff,  to 
escape  from  that  narrow  prison? 

I  could  see  nothing  of  him  from  where  T  sat ;  but  throwing 
myself  flat  on  the  ground,  and  stretching  as  far  as  I  dared 
over  the  cliff,  I  at  length  obtained  a  full  view  of  the  scene  be- 
9* 


102  THE   NEW    AGE   OF   GOLD. 

low.  I  saw  a  small,  sandy  beach,  running  well  up  among  the 
rocks,  and  sufficiently  high  at  the  upper  side  not  to  be  covered 
by  the  water,  except,  perhaps,  in  the  highest  tides.  Near  one 
corner  of  this  beach,  sitting  upon  a  large  stone,  I  saw  a  man 
dressed  like  a  sailor,  but,  owing  to  his  position,  I  could  not 
tell  whether  I  had  ever  seen  him  before.  lie  was  singing  to 
himself  with  a  zeal  and  animation  that  seemed  to  me  perfectly 
unaccountable,  considering  his  forlorn  condition ;  but  the  sea 
made  so  much  noise  that  I  tried  in  vain  to  catch  the  words. 
It  sounded,  however,  more  like  The  Bay  of  Biscay,  than  any 
other  song  I  could  remember. 

I  was  about  to  draw  back  from  the  edge  of  the  precipice,  in 
order  to  inform  Alice  of  this  unwelcome  discovery,  and  con 
sult  with  her  as  to  the  best  course  to  be  pursued  under  the 
circumstances,  when,  just  then,  a  pebble  falling  from  the  cliff 
directly  at  his  feet,  he  looked  up  to  see  where  it  came  from, 
and,  to  my  great  surprise,  I  recognized  the  face  of  one  of  my 
old  shipmates,  who  had  left  us  in  the  ship,  in  the  manner  al 
ready  described,  and  whom  I  certainly  never  expected  to  see 
again. 

He  hailed,  originally,  from  Ellsworth,  in  the  state  of 
Maine,  where,  I  believe,  most  all  our  sailors  come  from  ;  but 
he  had  since  led  such  a  wandering  life,  that  he  might  fairly 
be  considered  a  citizen  of  the  world.  He  was  known  among 
his  messmates  as  Short  Bill,  which  I  afterwards  altered  to 
Brevity  Bill,  to  distinguish  him  from  another  of  the  same 
name,  who  was  as  long  and  lank  as  he  was  short  and  stout  ; 
and  his  character  was  the  oddest  compound  of  meanness  and 
good-nature,  of  shrewdness  and  folly,  that  I  ever  met  with. 

But  if  he  had  been  the  best  fellow  that  ever  lived,  I  should 
have  wished  him  a  thousand  miles  away.  Before  he  came  I 
was  undisputed  master  of  my  little  kingdom ;  but  now,  I  saw 


A    HAPPY    THOUGHT.  103 

myself  dispossessed,  at  a  single  blow,  of  half  my  sovereignty. 
There  was  an  end  at  once  to  all  my  boasted  hopes  of  solitude. 
There  no  longer  seemed  the  least  romance  in  my  situation.  I 
could  hardly  have  felt  worse  if  I  had  seen  half  New  York  come 
prying,  with  its  vulgar  impertinence,  into  my  peaceful  hermit 
age.  I  might  just  as  well  have  been  in  Hoboken. 

An  hour  ago  I  felt  secure  from  all  intrusion  ;  and  now,  here 
was  this  horrid  monster  ringing  his  barbarous  songs  in  my 
very  ear,  and  making  himself  merry  in  the  midst  of  misfor 
tunes,  that,  if  he  had  possessed  the  least  share  of  sensibility, 
would,  long  ago,  have  broken  his  heart. 

All  this  was  bad  enough ;  but  when  I  thought  of  Alice,  I 
was  almost  beside  myself  wjth  indignation.  To  think  of  his 
looking  at  her,  and  speaking  to  her,  and  even  presuming  to 
call  her  Alice,  —  for  the  fellow  was  bold  and  forward, — 
and  of  her  speaking  to  him,  and  smiling  upon  him  —  O,  heav 
ens  !  the  thought  was  madness.  I  caught  up  a  large  stone, 
that  lay  by  my  side,  and  prepared  to  launch  it  on  his  head; 
but  something  stayed  my  uplifted  hand. 

And,  at  the  same  moment,  a  happy  thought  came  to  my 
relief.  Suppose  I  should  let  him  remain  where  he  was? 
There  was  little  probability  that,  without  my  assistance,  he 
would  ever  be  able  to  escape.  And,  after  all,  perhaps  he  was 
as  comfortable  there  as  he  would  be  anywhere  else.  He  evi 
dently  had  enough  to  eat  and  drink,  or  he  would  not  feel  like 
singing. 

But  had  I  a  right  thus  to  keep  him  in  prison  ?  Was  I 
doing  as  I  would  be  done  by  ? 

Certainly  I  had  a  right,  as  governor  of  the  island,  to  dis 
pose,  as  I  pleased,  of  all  its  inhabitants.  And,  as  to  the  other 
consideration,  it  had  not  the  slightest  weight  as  between  a  judge 
and  a  prisoner.  Besides,  I  really  doubted  whether  I  ought 


104  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

to  release  him.  He  was,  to  be  sure,  one  of  the  best-natured 
follows  in  the  world,  but  a  most  inveterate  toper,  and  very 
lazy.  I  remembered  hearing  the  captain  say  that  he  was  so 
lazy  that  he  would  chop  off  his  fingers  to  save  the  trouble  of 
cutting  his  nails. 

Would  it  be  wise  then,  would  it  be  expedient  for  me  to  give 
liberty  to  one  who  would  be  sure  to  make  so  bad  a  use  of  it  ? 
Should  I  be  justified  in  allowing  him  to  set  such  a  bad  ex 
ample  to  my  infant  community?  How  could  I  tell  how  far 
that  example  might  contaminate  both  Alice  and  the  bear  ? 
They  were  both  young  and  inexperienced,  without  any  fixed 
ness  of  principle  or  stability  of  character  ;  and  the  bear,  at 
least,  seemed  not  a  little  inclined  already  to  irregular  and  dis 
sipated  habits.  I  could  not  doubt  that  he  would  be  easily 
led  astray  by  one  so  much  older  than  himself,  and  whose 
social  temper  made  him  a  favorite  with  all  who  knew  him. 

I  was  curious,  however,  to  know  what  he  had  to  eat  and 
drink,  and  also  what  had  become  of  his  companions;  so  I  once 
more  drew  near  and  looked  over  the  cliff.  He  had  already 
got  over  the  alarm  occasioned  by  the  fall  of  the  stone,  which 
he  probably  supposed  was  loosened  by  some  wild  animal,  and 
was  singing  away  again  as  hard  as  ever.  A  pebble,  that  I 
tossed  into  the  water,  suddenly  put  an  end  to  his  song,  when, 
starting  to  his  feet  and  looking  about  him  in  every  direction, 
he  presently  discovered  my  face  peering  down  at  him  from  the 
edge  of  the  cliff. 

After  staring  at  me  a  moment  in  stupid  wonder,  he  began 
shouting  in  the  most  frantic  manner,  though  he  might  have 
known  that  I  could  not  hear  a  syllable  while  the  waves  kept 
up  their  clamor  ;  till,  at  last,  finding  that  I  made  no  answer, 
he  fell  to  making  signs,  as  if  he  were  letting  out  a  line  through 
his  hands,  and  pointing  every  once  in  a  while  up  to  me; 


AN   ARGUMENT.  105 

from  which  I  conjectured  that  he  might  be  going  a  fishing. 
I  soon  fuund  that  I  could  learn  nothing  further  where  I  was, 
however,  and,  as  it  was  now  getting  late,  I  thought  it  was  time 
for  us  to  be  going  home.  But  first,  I  scratched  the  word 
"  To-morrow  "  on  a  smooth  leaf,  and,  having  tied  it  to  a  stone 
with  a  blade  of  grass,  I  threw  it  over  the  cliff;  for,  though  I 
knew  very  well  that  his  literary  attainments  were  not  at 
all  remarkable,  yet  it  would  give  him  something  to  think 
about,  and,  if  he  tried  long  enough,  he  might  perhaps  guess  at 
its  meaning. 

On  our  way  home  our  talk,  as  might  well  be  supposed,  was 
all  about  the  new  comer.  My  vexation  was  not  a  little  in 
creased  when  I  found  that  Alice,  so  far  from  regarding  his 
arrival  in  the  same  light  with  me,  looked  upon  it  as  a  positive 
advantage. 

"  It  would  be  so  much  pleasanter,"  she  said,  "  to  have  some 
one  else  to  help  you  at  your  work,  and  we  should  feel  so  much 
safer ;  and  then,  perhaps,  together  we  could  build  a  boat  big 
enough  to  carry  us  all  safely  home." 

I  could  not  help  smiling  at  the  simplicity  of  this  last  sug 
gestion,  but  I  was  angry  at  her  wish  to  leave  the  island, 
and  yet  more  disturbed  at  the  thoughts  that  the  rest  of  her 
speech  had  excited.  I  could  not  bear  to  think  that  she  should 
wish  for  any  other  society,  or  any  other  protection,  than  I  could 
offer  ;  and,  as  for  seeking  his  assistance  in  anything  I  had  to 
do  for  her,  I  would  never,  if  I  could  help  it,  allow  him  to  lift 
a  finder. 

Her  sympathy  only  confirmed  my  former  resolution,  and 
the  more  she  talked  of  helping  him  out  of  his  awkward  posi 
tion,  the  moro  determined  I  was  to  keep  him  in  it.  At  every 
step  we  took  I  became  better  satisfied  that  we  should  be  hap 
pier  apart,  and  by  the  time  we  arrived  at  home  I  had  almost 


106  THE   NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 

made  up  my  mind  never  to  go  near  him  again.  At  any  rate, 
I  would  put  it  off  as  long  as  I  could,  and  in  the  mean  time 
there  was  no  knowing  what  would  happen. 

A  storm  might  come  and  wash  him  off  the  rocks,  or  his  pro 
visions  might  be  exhausted,  and  then  —  what  then  ?  Suppose 
he  did  starve  to  death?  It  was  not  my  fault.  He  had 
enough  to  eat,  for  all  I  knew  to  the  contrary ;  and,  if  not, 
why  should  I  feed  him  ?  lie  might  go  to  work  and  earn  his 
own  living,  if  he  were  not  so  abominably  lazy.  AVhy  should  I 
encourage  him  in  his  indolence  ?  I  had  enough  to  do  to  pro 
vide  for  myself  and  Alice  ;  there  was  riot  a  great  deal  of  food 
on  the  island  ;  he  was  a  monstrous  feeder,  and,  if  I  undertook 
to  supply  his  gluttony,  we  might  all  starve  together. 

I  arrived  at  home  in  a  very  uncomfortable  frame  of  mind. 
Alice  saw  my  dejection,  but  without  divining  its  cause  ;  and 
after  supper,  in  hopes  of  relieving  my  malady,  she  began  to 
sing.  But  her  kindness  had  just  the  contrary  effect.  I  had 
often  listened  to  her  with  pleasure,  for  I  was  passionately  fond 
of  music ;  but  now  it  only  increased  my  disturbance.  In  fact, 
I  wished  with  all  my  heart  that  she  could  not  sing  at  all ;  for 
they  would  be  always  singing  together,  while  I  could  do  noth 
ing  but  listen.  To  be  sure  he  sung  most  vilely,  —  though 
I  used  to  like  it  well  enough  on  board  the  ship ;  anything 
sounds  well  at  sea,  —  but  Alice  would  never  notice  it,  and  in 
fact  I  had  heard  her  say  that  he  had  one  of  the  pleasantest 
voices  she  had  ever  listened  to. 

Here  was  fresh  cause  for  anxiety.  What  could  be  more 
dangerous  than  a  music-teacher?  No,  no,  I  should  be  v.n 
idiot  ever  to  give  him  such  a  chance.  A  prisoner  he  was,  and 
a  prisoner  he  should  remain. 

How  glad  I  was  that  he  was  so  heavy  !  If  he  had  been  a 
little  fellow,  Alice  might  perhaps  have  drawn  him  up ;  but  now 


MY    DETERMINATION.  107 

it  was  impossible.  But  stop  a  moment ;  suppose  he  did  not 
find  enough  to  eut ;  ho  would  soon  grow  lean  and  light,  and 
then  —  but  nevermind;  I  would  go  the  first  thing  in  the 
morning  and  carry  him  as  many  figs  as  he  could  eat.  lie 
never  would  have  resolution  to  resist,  and  in  a  month  we 
might  as  well  think  of  hauling  up  an  ox.  No  matter  if  I  did 
have  to  work,  I  should  only  be  doing  as  I  would  be  done  by, 
and  no  one  should  ever  accuse  me  of  leaving  a  fellow-creature 
in  distre.-ss.  If  he  wanted  figs  he  should  have  them. 

I  am  not  very  well  pleased  with  this  chapter,  which  I  wrote 
several  months  ago  ;  and,  if  I  were  to  write  it  over  again, 
it  would  probably  be  in  a  very  different  style.  But,  perhaps, 
after  all,  it  is  better  as  it  is.  What  need  of  darkening  every 
page  with  vain  regrets?  I  have  wearied  the  reader  too  much, 
I  fear,  already,  with  what  he  may  deem  a  sickly  melancholy. 
Let  it  stand,  then,  at  least  to  show  how  I  might  have  written 
if  sorrow  had  never  come  to  my  door. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

Going  to  sleep.  — An  unwelcome  Visitor.  — Unexpected  Deliverance.— 
Fight  between  Hamlet  and  the  Panther.  —  Second  Visit  to  Brevity 
Bin.-— His  Alarm.  — Its  Explanation. —Fate  of  the  Captain  and 
Crew.  —  His  Anxiety  to  know  what  became  of  Alice. —My  Injustice 
towards  Him.  —  My  Excuse.  —We  return  Home. 

FULL  of  the  comfortable  reflections  that  the  consciousness  of 
a  good  intention  never  fails  to  impart,  I  now  gave  myself  up  to 
all  the  luxurious  enjoyments  of  repose.  It  was  almost  dark, 
but  I  could  see  the  rising  and  falling  of  her  little  breast,  as 
Alice  poured  in  the  greedy  ear  of  night  the  full  rich  tide  of 
song.  The  shadow  of  the  shaggy  bear  lying  down  at  her 
side  kept  time  with  the  music  by  the  regular  movements  of  his 
head,  while  he  now  and  then  testified  his  satisfaction  by  a  low 
but  most  expressive  sigh. 

I  could  have  listened  forever,  but  at  last  the  song  was 
hushed,  the  bear's  head  sunk  between  his  paws,  Alice  with  a 
last  good-night  retired  to  her  chamber,  and  I,  having  nothing 
more  to  occupy  my  thoughts,  addressed  myself  to  sleep. 

But  just  as  the  first  soft  languor  was  stealing  over  me,  and 
when  already  my  drowsy  fancies  were  wakening  into  dreams, 
a  crackling  among  the  dead  branches  aroused  me  with  a  sud 
den  start. 

Sitting  upright  on  my  bed  of  leaves,  I  gazed  around  me  in 
every  direction,  but  could  see  nothing  that  looked  like  danger, 


AN    UNWELCOME    VISITOR.  109 

and  was  about  to  compose  myself  again  to  rest,  when  I  caught 
a  glimpse  of  some  dark  object  standing  in  the  opening  of  the 
hedge.  It  was  perfectly  motionless,  and  I  began  to  think  that 
my  fears  had  deceived  me,  and  that  it  was  nothing  but  a 
bush ;  but,  waiting  a  moment  longer,  I  saw  it  begin  to  move 
and  approach  the  spot  where  I  was  lying ;  but  very  slowly 
and  silently,  so  that  I  could  hear  my  heart  knocking  against 
my  ribs.  It  seemed  to  me  bigger  than  the  largest  dog  I  had 
ever  seen  ;  and  with  nothing  but  a  common  pocket  knife  with 
which  to  defend  myself,  for  it  was  too  dark  to  find  the  axe,  I 
felt  how  utterly  hopeless  my  case  would  be,  if  compelled  to  do 
battle  with  such  a  formidable  antagonist. 

If  I  could  only  have  got  into  the  house  I  had  little  doubt 
of  making  good  my  defence ;  but  it  would  be  dangerous  to 
retreat  in  presence  of  such  an  active  enemy.  I  could  not 
leave  Alice,  and  on  the  whole  I  concluded  that  my  best  plan 
would  be  to  remain  perfectly  quiet,  when,  perhaps,  he  either 
would  not  see  me,  or  would  not  dare  to  venture  on  an  assault. 

But  my  hopes  were  vain.  He  came  nearer  and  nearer, 
lighted  by  his  glowing  eyeballs.  At  a  little  distance  he 
stopped  and  crouched,  gathering  himself  together  for  the  fatal 
spring.  Then  I  saw  in  the  air  the  dim  shadow  of  the  mighty 
arch  with  which  he  bounded  from  the  earth.  I  thought  my 
last  hour  had  come.  Involuntarily  closing  my  eyes,  and  clasp 
ing  the  knife  more  firmly  in  my  hand,  I  waited  the  coming 
shock. 

But  it  came  not.  My  deliverance  was  effected  in  a  most 
surprising  and  unexpected  manner.  The  creature  had  mis 
calculated  his  distance,  and  lighted  directly  upon  the  body  of 
of  the  bear,  whose  presence,  till  that  moment,  I  had  quite  for 
gotten.  This  was  undoubtedly  a  very  fortunate  circumstance 
as  far  as  I  was  concerned ;  but  the  bear  might  well  be  par- 
10 


THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 


doned  for  entertaining  a  different  opinion.  It  is  certainly 
anything  but  pleasant  to  be  wakened  out  of  a  sound  sleep,  by 
having  two  hundred  pounds,  or  so,  come  plump  upon  one's 
shoulders,  without  so  much  as  saying,  "By  your  leave." 
Especially,  when  the  said  two  hundred  pounds  happens,  as  in 
this  instance,  to  be  furnished  with  a  full  set  of  teeth  and 
claws,  strong  enough,  and  sharp  enough,  to  tear  an  ox  to 
pieces,  and  eat  him  afterwards  ;  and  proceeds  to  plant  them 
all  at  once  in  one's  eyes  and  nose,  with  an  inevitable  dexterity 
that  fate  itself  might  envy. 

This,  I  say,  is  anything  but  pleasant,  and  the  bear  might 
very  reasonably  have  entered  a  protest  against  the  whole  pro 
ceeding  ;  but  I  am  not  sure  that  his  course  was  not  a  wiser 
one.  He  probably  knew  that  he  was  more  than  a  match  for 
his  assailant  ;  and  so  did  I,  for  that  matter.  All  that  I  was 
afraid  of,  was,  that  he  would  not  wake  up  soon  enough  to  do 
himself  justice. 

But  I  had  no  need  to  alarm  myself.  He  was  altogether 
too  wary  a  campaigner  to  be  taken  by  surprise.  In  a  single 
instant  he  was  as  wide  awake  as  if  he  had  never  been  asleep 
in  his  life.  From  the  end  of  his  nose  to  the  tip  of  his  tail, 
there  was  not  a  fibre,  or  muscle,  or  even  a  hair  about  him, 
that  did  not  seem  instinct  with  life  and  all  ready  for  the  fight. 
In  fact,  he  waked  so  suddenly,  that  I  could  not  help  thinking 
that  he  must  have  had  an  eye  open  all  the  time,  and  had  seen 
from  the  beginning  everything  that  was  about  to  happen. 

At  any  rate,  he  did  not  appear  the  least  disconcerted  by 
the  panther's  rude  embrace  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  returned  it 
with  so  much  interest  that  the  latter  very  soon  manifested  a 
disposition  to  end  the  affair  as  speedily  as  possible. 

But  the  bear  did  not  seem  inclined  to  part  with  him  so 
easily.  In  vain  the  panther  declared,  —  for  so  I  interpreted 


FIGHT   BETWEEN    HAMLET   AND   THE   PANTHER.  Ill 

his  outcries,  —  that  it  was  all  a  mistake  —  that  he  thought  it 
was  somebody  else  —  that  he  would  have  bitten  his  own  tail 
off  before  he  would  have  insulted  so  honorable  a  gentleman ; 
not  one  of  his  apologies  had  the  slightest  effect  upon  the 
bear,  who,  though  he  had  the  best  heart  in  the  world,. very 
properly  thought  that  such  an  offence  could  be  expiated  only 
by  death. 

As  soon  as  my  first  alarm  was  over,  I  hastened  to  speak  to 
Alice,  and  assure  her  of  my  safety  ;  and  then  turned  again  to 
'watch  the  progress  of  the  fray.  From  the  excitement  of  the 
conflict  my  blood  was  soon  fairly  up,  and  I  would  gladly  have 
gone  to  the  bear's  assistance  ;  but  Alice  would  not  let  me 
leave  her  side. 

All  this  time  the  screams  and  yells  of  the  panther  were 
frightful  to  listen  to.  I  could  not  bear  to  hear  such  sounds  in 
that  peaceful  island ;  but,  as  for  Hamlet,  he  never  uttered  a 
sound,  except,  now  and  then,  one  of  his  low,  short  humphs, 
whenever  he  made  a  particularly  happy  hit  with  his  hind 
claws. 

IJow  long  the  battle  lasted,  or  how  many  rounds  were 
fought,  I  cannot  tell ;  but  at  length  the  struggles  of  the 
panther  grew  fainter,  his  cries  changed  to  choking  sobs,  and 
then  all  was  still. 

The  bear  now  cautiously  released  his  hold,  and  having 
given  his  prostrate  foe  a  few  final  shakes,  to  be  sure  that  he 
was  dead,  and  himself  a  few  more,  to  be  sure  that  he  was 
alive,  he  quietly  lay  down  to  rest,  as  though  he  thought 
nothing  of  it. 

But,  as  to  myself  and  Alice,  we  were  too  much  excited  to 
think  of  sleeping,  and  we  accordingly  sat  up  nearly  all  night, 
talking  over  what  had  happened,  congratulating  each  other 
on  our  wonderful  deliverance,  and  exclaiming,  over  and  over 


112  THE   NEW   AGE    OF   GOLD. 

ao-ain,  "  What  should  we  have  done  without  the  bear  ?  "  I 
had  particular  reason  to  ask  the  question,  for  I  remembered 
how  often  I  had  been  tempted  to  take  his  life;  and  when  I 
thought  of  it  I  felt  ready  to  die  with  shame.  I  was  very 
glad  that  it  was  dark,  for  I  was  sure  that  I  could  not  look 
him  in  the  face. 

After  such  a  fearful  alarm  Alice  was  afraid  to  sleep  alone, 
I  therefore  made  up  my  bed  on  the  opposite  side  of  our  little 
house,  and  thus,  with  the  bear  on  guard  before  the  door,  we 
felt  comparatively  safe. 

The  next  morning,  when  we  came  to  look  at  our  formidable 
visitor,  we  saw  still  more  clearly  how  much  reason  we  had  to 
be  thankful  for  our  escape.  It  was  a  female  panther,  nearly, 
if  not  quite,  as  large  as  the  bear,  and  with  a  countenance 
of  such  determined  ferocity,  that  Alice  could  not  bear  to  look 
at  it,  even  in  death.  The  body  was  lacerated  in  the  most 
frightful  manner.  Nor  had  the  bear  escaped  without  some 
severe  bruises,  as  was  evident  from  the  hesitating  manner  in 
which  he  roused  himself  to  follow  us  when  we  set  off  on  our 
journey  to  the  shore.  Indeed,  I  thought  at  first  that  he  did 
not  mean  to  go  at  all ;  but,  as  soon  as  Alice  spoke  to  him,  his 
hesitation  vanished,  and  he  began,  though  with  slow  and 
painful  steps,  to  drag  himself  after  us;  till  by  degrees  his 
stiffened  limbs  regained  their  wonted  elasticity,  and  by  the 
time  we  reached  the  shore  he  seemed  as  lively  as  if  nothing 
had  happened. 

On  looking  over  the  cliff,  I  presently  discovered  our  friend 
Bill  in  the  same  position  in  which  I  had  left  him,  though  he 
was  no  longer  singing,  but  seemed,  on  the  contrary,  decidedly 
pensive  and  melancholy.  He  held  something  in  his  hand, 
which  I  conjectured  might  be  the  leaf  I  had  thrown  down  to 
him,  but  it  was  too  far  off  for  me  to  see  with  any  certainty. 


SECOND    VISIT    TO    BREVITY    BILL.  113 

\Yithout  calling  his  attention,  I  began  now  to  look  about  me 
for  some  way  of  descending  the  cliff.  The  attempt  was  diffi 
cult  and  dangerous,  but  not  impossible.  The  weather-beaten 
face  of  the  precipice,  scarred  and  wrinkled  with  seams  and 
ridges,  offered  a  convenient  foot-hold.  Long  flaunting  vines, 
rooted  deep  in  the  rocks,  and  apparently  drawing  all  their 
nourishment  from  the  air,  seemed  to  invite  my  hands. 

In  this  way  I  reached  a  narrow  shelf,  some  fifty  feet  above 
the  beach,  when,  finding  that  I  could  go  no  further,  I  sat  down 
and  cried,  "  All  hands  aloft  to  take  in  sail  !  " 

Upon  this,  Bill  started  up  as  if  he  had  been  shot,  but, 
seeing  no  one,  presently  sat  down  again,  crying  out,  "  Lord  ! 
have  mercy  on  us!  Lord!  forgive  my  sins  !  Lord!  deliver 
us !  "  Then,  jumping  up  again,  he  began  walking  back  and 
forth  like  a  distracted  creature,  groaning  all  the  while  at  such 
a  rate,  that  I  was  all  in  a  shudder,  only  to  hear  him  calling  on 
God  to  forgive  his  sins,  and  promising,  if  ever  he  got  safe 
home,  to  live  a  very  different  life  from  what  he  had  done. 

All  this,  you  may  be  sure,  caused  me  no  small  astonish 
ment,  for  I  could  not,  for  the  life  of  me,  imagine  what  had 
got  into  him  ;  so,  at  last,  I  could  bear  it  no  longer,  and  I 
cried  out,  "  Brevity  Bill,  what  in  the  world  is  the  matter 
with  you?  Here!  don't  you  know  me  ?  Look  up  and  see 
who  it  is." 

With  that  he  looked  up,  though  very  fearfully,  it  seemed  ; 
but  seeing  a  living  man,  and  not  a  ghost,  as  I  afterwards 
found  that  he  expected,  he  presently  got  over  his  fright,  and 
was  able  to  answer  my  questions  in  a  rational  manner. 

I  found  from  his  account  that,  after  leaving  the  ship,  the 
captain  and  crew  had  taken  the  same  direction  that  I  did  ; 
but,  owing  to  their  having  more  favorable  winds,  or  being  able 
to  use  their  oars,  they  had  made  the  land  much  sooner. 
10* 


114  THE   NEW    AGE   OF   GOLD. 

They  had,  also,  sailed  round  the  island,  but  finding  no  con 
venient  point  to  land,  had  attempted  to  beach  the  boat  in  that 
place ;  but,  the  sea  being  very  rough,  the  boat  had  been  caught 
and  upset  by  a  roller,  and  every  one  on  board  had  perished, 
except  himself.  Since  then  he  had  lived  on  shell-fish  and 
turtle  eggs,  of  which  he  had  found  a  great  abundance  on  the 
beach ;  and,  on  the  whole,  had  led  a  very  merry  life ;  though 
the  scarcity  of  fresh  water,  and  the  want  of  a  fire  to  cook  his 
provisions,  had  been  somewhat  of  a  drawback  to  his  happiness. 

But  what  was  it  he  was  so  frightened  at  ? 

"  AVhy,  you  see,"  said  he,  "  I  thought  it  was  a  ghost.  I 
never  felt  exactly  right  about  the  way  we  left  you  and  the 
poor  young  lady,  and  I  told  the  second  mate  at  the  time  I 
was  afraid  no  good  would  ever  come  of  it ;  but  the  captain 
said  you  was  as  good  as  dead  already,  and  —  " 

"  But  how  came  he  to  leave  Al — ,  Miss  Cremorne  ?  " 

"  O,  the  captain  tried  to  take  her,  but  she  would  n't  let 
him,  without  he  'd  take  you  too,  you  know ;  so  he  had  to  leave 
her,  and  we  all  thought  you  'd  gone  down  together,  and  when 
I  see  you  last  night,  I  made  sure  'twas  your  ghost  come  to 
haunt  me.  But  how  did  you  get  off?  I  thought  you  'd  gone 
to  Davy  Jones'  locker  long  afore  this.  But,  say,  can't  you 
let  down  a  rope,  and  haul  a  fellow  up?  It's  devilish  lone 
some  down  here,  and  'tan't  handy  talking  either." 

To  this  I  replied  that  I  had  no  rope,  and  I  was  afraid  that 
he  would  have  to  stay  where  he  was  for  the  present ;  and 
then,  to  avoid  further  discussion,  I  hastened  to  tell  my  story. 

"But  what  became  of  the  youngvlady?"  he  demanded; 
for,  strange  to  say,  I  had  entirely  forgotten  her.  "  You  didn't 
go  and  leave  her,  did  you  ?  " 

"  Leave  her  ?  no  !  "  I  replied  ;  "  but  we  had  hardly  any 
water,  and  she  was  very  weak,  poor  thing,  and  so  —  " 


MY   INJUSTICE   TO   BILL.  115 

"  The  sharks  got  her  ?  Eh  ?  "  cried  Bill,  wiping  a  good- 
for-nothing  tear  from  his  hypocritical  eye.  "  It  was  too  much 
for  her,  eh  ?  Well,  well,  we  're  all  mortal  ;  but  say,  how  was 
it  ?  did  she  die  easy  ?  " 

"  No  matter  now,"  I  replied ;  "  it  is  all  over  now  ;  she  has 
gone  where  you  will  never  see  her  again." 

I  must  confess  that  this  part  of  my  story  affords  me  very 
little  satisfaction.  Indeed,  no  one  can  condemn,  more  strongly 
than  I  should  do,  the  meanness  and  duplicity  of  which  I  was 
guilty  towards  my  unhappy  shipmate.  But,  at  that  time,  I 
was  so  blinded  by  my  love  for  Alice,  and  my  jealous  anxiety  to 
have  her  all  to  myself,  that  I  was  ready  to  do  almost  anything 
to  secure  the  object  of  my  wishes.  Not  that  I  ever  feared, 
even  for  a  moment,  that  he  could  supplant  me  in  her  affections ; 
such  an  idea  never  entered  my  head ;  but,  in  some  way  or 
other,  I  felt  that  his  presence  would  weaken  our  union  to  an 
extent  of  which  I  dared  not  even  think.  He  would  be  a 
continual  restraint  upon  us.  Our  happiness  could  hardly  fail 
to  excite  his  envy,  and  then  Jiis  envy  would  in  a  great 
measure  destroy  our  happiness.  We  must  fail  of  half  our 
joys  for  fear  of  disturbing  his  peace.  And,  instead  of  that 
perfect  and  unconscious  freedom  which  had  hitherto  marked 
all  our  intercourse,  there  would  be  nothing  but  shyness  and 
formality. 

Poor  fellow  !  I  treated  him  cruelly,  it  is  true ;  but  it  is  a 
great  pity  that  he  could  not  have  landed  somewhere  else. 

But  to  return  to  my  story.  I  had  hardly  got  the  last  words 
out  of  my  mouth,  when  a  stone,  plunging  from  the  cliff, 
interrupted  our  conversation,  and  both  together  raising  our 
eyes  upward,  there  stood  Alice  on  a  projecting  crag,  at  a  little 
distance  down  the  coast,  her  figure  showing  in  bold  relief 
against  the  sky. 


116  TUB    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

"  Why !  why !  "  ejaculated  Bill,  rubbing  his  eyes  to  look 
again,  "  what 's  that  ?  Is  n't  that  she  herself,  and  looking  as 
tight  and  trig  as  the  day  she  was  born?  I  thought  you  said 
she  was  dead.  But  can't  I  see  her?  Can't  I  speak  to  her? 
Can't  I  touch  her  little  hand  ?  Bless  me  !  I  'd  no  idea  it 
would  ha'  done  me  so  much  good.  But  say,  can't  I  see  her? 
Can't  I  speak  to  her?" 

"  You  can  see  her,"  I  replied,  "  as  much  as  you  have  a 
mind  to,  and  speak  to  her,  too,  for  that  matter ;  though  I  am 
rather  doubtful  about  her  hearing  you ;  but  I  don't  see  how 
you  can  do  anything  more  at  present." 

"  Why  !  "  he  persisted,  "  can't  you  help  me  up  ?  It 's  con 
founded  lonesome  down  here,  with  nobody  to  talk  to,  nothing 
but  these  plaguy  waves  from  morning  till  night.  Come,  do 
now,  that 's  a  good  fellow,  and  I  '11  do  as  much  for  you  some 
of  these  days." 

"  But  I  have  no  rope,"  I  replied,  "  and  besides,  I  am  sure 
you  are  very  well  off  down  there ;  I  heard  you  singing  yes 
terday  as  if  you  liked  it." 

"  And  so  I  did,"  said  he,  "  for  a  day  or  two,  before  I  knew 
there  was  anybody  else  about  here ;  but  now  I  'd  as  lief  be  in 
prison.  Can't  you  think  of  some  way  ?  "  And  so  he  ran  on 
for  half  an  hour,  and  I  dare  say  would  have  talked  till 
doomsday,  if  I  had  stopped  to  listen. 

But,  besides  the  objections  already  mentioned,  I  really 
could  not  think  just  then  of  any  way  to  assist  him.  I  had 
nothing  to  draw  him  up  with,  and  though  I  might  perhaps 
myself  have  reached  the  shore,  yet  I  did  not  see  how  that 
would  better  his  condition.  The  only  thing,  therefore,  for 
him  to  do  was  to  bear  his  confinement  with  as  much  patience 
as  possible,  until  some  means  should  present  itself  of  effecting 
his  deliverance ;  and,  in  the  mean  time,  that  he  might  not  be 


COMFORT   AND   FIGS.  117 

left  wholly  without  amusement,  I  promised  to  come  two  or 
three  times  every  week,  or  as  much  oftener  as  1  could  make  it 
convenient,  to  let  him  know  how  we  were  getting  along,  and 
bring  him  whatever  we  thought  most  likely  to  add  to  his 
comfort. 

I  accordingly  threw  him  the  figs  I  had  brought  with  me, 
and  then  hastened  to  rejoin  Alice,  whom  I  found  very  impa 
tient  at  my  long  delay  ;  and,  after  gently  chiding  her  for 
having  ventured  so  near  the  precipice,  and  given  her  a  brief 
account  of  this  painful  interview,  we  turned  towaivl.--  Wie, 
where  we  arrived  in  safety  without  any  further  adventure. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

MaKing  a  Fire;  Difficulties  in  the  Way.  —  Man's  Dependence  on  his  Fel 
lows. —  Blessings  of  Independence.  —  My  unsuccessful  Attempts. — 
Bows  and  Arrows.  —  Brevity  Bill;  his  growing  Discontent.  —  My  Anx 
iety  on  his  Account.  —  Episodical.  —  Hamlet;  his  Character.  —  We  set 
out  to  explore  the  Interior  of  the  Island.  — Female  Costume;  its  Incon 
veniences. —  Want  of  Clothing;  how  to  supply  it. 

THE  great  object  of  my  wishes  now  was  to  make  a  fire. 
Not  that  we  were  likely  to  suffer  at  all  from  cold,  but  we 
were  tired  of  eating  our  shell-fish  raw ;  and,  besides,  I  could 
not  help  thinking  that  a  fire  would  look  unusually  pleasant 
after  our  being  so  long  without  it,  and  make  us  both  feel  far 
more  as  if  we  were  at  home. 

I  hoped  then  that  Alice  especially  would  yield  to  its  fond 
attraction.  Now  she  was  all  the  time  wondering  how  long 
we  should  have  to  remain  on  the  island,  and  wishing  that 
some  vessel  would  come  to  take  us  off.  I  was  troubled  to  see 
her  so  uneasy.  For  my  part,  I  asked  nothing  better  than  to 
remain  where  we  were  all  the  days  of  our  life.  1  would 
gladly  have  had  her  feel  the  same  contentment.  A  cheerful 
fireside,  and  all  that  home  feeling  that  lingers  round  it,  would 
perhaps  insensibly  produce  this  effect.  At  any  rate,  I  could 
think  of  nothing  else,  with  possibly  a  single  exception,  that 
would  be  so  likely  to  exert  this  influence. 


MAN'S   DEPENDENCE    ON    HIS    FELLOWS. 


119 


But  making  a  fire  was  no  such,  easy  matter.  To  be  sure, 
when  friction  matches  are  plenty,  there  is  no  sort  of  difficulty ; 
but,  in  the  absence  of  all  artificial  aids,  the  simplest  operation 
became  at  once  elevated  to  the  dignity,  and  invested  with  all 
the  mysteries,  of  a  science. 

A  man  standing  alone  is  a  very  helpless  being.  It  is  only 
in  combination  with  his  fellows  that  his  true  power,  like  that 
of  a  unit,  becomes  in  any  degree  apparent. 

That  vast  store-house  of  invention,  to  which  so  many  ages 
have  contributed,  was  closed  against  us.  Crippled  by  a 
thousand  artificial  wants,  babied  with  endless  toys,  nursed 
into  more  than  infant  helplessness  in  the  luxurious  lap  of  a 
doting  mother,  we  were  all  at  once  thrust  out,  to  do  for  our 
selves  what  others  had  hitherto  done  for  us,  and  to  supply,  as 
far  as  we  could,  by  our  own  courage  and  strength  and  inge 
nuity,  what  we  could  no  longer  hope  to  obtain  in  the  usual 
way. 

The  shock  at  first  was  painful,  but  in  the  end  most  salutary. 
Infinite  were  the  blessings  it  conferred  upon  us. 

But  how  shall  I  go  to  work  to  convey  to  men  who  have 
never  known  those  blessings  a  sense  of  the  freedom,  and 
independence,  and  self-reliance,  that  such  a  life  imparts? 
How  shall  I  make  them  feel  the  joy,  the  glory,  the  rapturous 
delight  of  one,  who,  after  stifling  many  years  in  the  den  of 
cities,  swathed,  like  a  living  mummy,  in  the  innumerable  folds 
of  a  superstitious  faith  and  practice,  at  length  finds  himself 
face  to  face  with  nature,  and  not  only  at  liberty,  but  impera 
tively  called  upon  to  think,  and  speak,  and  act  himself,  and 
not  by  another  ?  No  man,  or  set  of  men,  shall  give  him  laws. 
He  is  free  from  the  authority  of  precedent  and  example.  Not 
for  him  society  spreads  her  Procrustean  bed.  God  and  his 
own  soul  alone  shall  settle  the  question  of  his  growth.  Man 


120  THE    NEW   AGE   OF    GOLD. 

in  cities  crawls  and  grovels ;  in  the  woods  he  runs,  he  flies,  he 
soars,  as  on  wings  of  fire,  into  the  very  bosom  of  his  God. 

For  this,  then,  if  for  nothing  else,  I  bless  my  kind  and 
happy  star.  My  soul  walks  among  men  as  the  naked  Adam 
among  his  dressed  and  wondering  posterity.  They  dare  not 
do  what  I  dare.  I  seem  to  them  a  being  of  another  sphere. 
They  cannot  take  my  measure.  This  simple,  yet  sublime 
egotism  they  cannot  fathom.  They  accuse  me  of  oddity, 
affectation,  and  impiety,  even,  because  I  am  not  in  all  respects 
precisely  like  them.  They  cannot  see  that  I  only  am  the  true 
man,  and  all  the  rest  more  or  less  counterfeit. 

But  the  question  now  is  of  making  a  fire ;  and  the  reader 
will,  undoubtedly,  be  more  interested  in  learning  the  various 
expedients  I  made  use  of  to  effect  this  purpose,  than  in  a 
barren  disquisition  on  a  subject  he  cannot,  at  least  so  per 
fectly,  understand. 

I  remembered  to  have  read,  years  before,  in  some  books  of 
travels,  that  certain  savages,  when  in  want  of  a  fire,  were  in 
the  habit  of  rubbing  two  dry  sticks  rapidly  together,  until 
the  heat  obtained  by  friction  was  sufficient  to  produce  a  blaze  ; 
and  I  naturally  supposed  that  I  could  do  the  same;  but  after 
trying  till  my  arms  seemed  ready  to  drop  off,  not  once  only, 
but  many  different  times,  I  began  seriously  to  doubt  the 
whole  story,  and  to  believe  that  this  virtue,  as  with  many 
others  ascribed  to  savages,  such  as  generosity,  hospitality  and 
the  like,  was,  after  all,  only  a  pleasant  fiction,  coined,  most 
probably,  in  the  inventive  brain  of  some  romantic  dreamer, 
who  had  never  in  all  his  life  stirred  a  single  step  beyond  the 
brick  walls  of  his  native  city. 

However,  to  satisfy  myself  more  fully  on  this  point,  I  now 
went  a  step  further,  and  having  made  a  sort  of  whirligig  with 
a  crooked  stick,  and  a  thong  cut  from  the  hide  of  the  panther, 


ATTEMPTS   AT   FI11E-MAKING.  121 

I  kept  it  twirling,  at  least  an   hour,  without  getting 'heat 
enough  in  all  that  time  to  burn  my  fingers. 

I  next  tried  flint  and  steel,  with  dry  leaves  for  tinder  ;  but, 
though  I  struck  out  showers  of  sparks,  and  even  set  the 
leaves  on  fire,  I  never  could  get  them  to  blaze,  and  finally 
abandoned  the  whole  attempt  in  despair. 

I  cannot  tell  how  much  I  was  disturbed  by  these  repeated 
failures.  I  had  been  all  the  time  so  sure  of  success,  and  had 
so  set  my  heart  upon  it,  that  I  hardly  knew  how  to  reconcile 
myself  to  the  disappointment.  I  seemed  to  myself  conscious 
of  a  sort  of  humiliation,  as  if  we  had  thus  lost  the  most  signal 
token  of  our  humanity,  and  been  reduced  to  the  level  of  the 
beasts. 

To  be  sure,  if  I  had  had  a  horse,  I  might  still  have  cooked 
my  meat,  as  I  had  heard  of  certain  nations  of  hard  riders 
doing,  by  galloping  a  mile  or  so  with  it  under  my  saddle  ; 
but,  after  meditating  on  the  subject  a  long  time,  I  came  to  the 
conclusion  that,  as  I  had  no  horse,  and  not  even  a  saddle,  I 
might  as  well  give  up  all  hopes  of  effecting  my  purpose  in 
that  way. 

So  I  dismissed  the  subject  from  my  mind ;  and  when  Alice, 
some  time  afterwards,  expressed  a  wish  for  a  nice  roasted 
turkey,  well  stuffed  and  basted,  such  as  she  had  often  seen  on 
her  grandfather's  table,  I  gently  reproved  her  for  her  weak 
ness,  at  the  same  time  assuring  her  that  a  vegetable  diet  was 
far  more  wholesome,  and  that,  as  for  a  fire,  Adam  and  Eve 
did  very  well  without  it,  and  so  could  we.  The  story  of  its 
coming  from  heaven,  I  added,  was  a  mere  fabrication ;  as,  for 
my  part,  I  believed  that  it  had  a  very  different  origin. 

But  because  we  had  no  meat  was  no  reason  why  we  should 
eat  nothing  but  figs  and  shell-fish ;  so,  a  few  days  after  the 

11 


122  THE   NEW    AGE    OF   GOLD. 

events  I  have  just  recorded,  we  set  off,  early  one  morning,  in 
search  of  whatever  else  our  Paradise  might  furnish. 

For  fear,  however,  lest  we  should  be  attacked  by  wild 
beasts,  I  must  first  provide  myself  with  means  of  defence. 
With  this  end  in  view,  I  carefully  examined  the  wood  of  the 
different  trees  that  grew  in  the  neighborhood,  and  having  at 
length  found  one  that  I  thought  would  answer  the  purpose,  I 
made  with  my  axe  and  knife  two  very  tolerable  bows  (that 
being  a  species  of  manufacture  to  which  I  was  already  accus 
tomed), 'a  large  one  for  myself  and  a  smaller  one  for  my 
charming  Alice. 

I  do  not  think  that  Diana  could  have  wielded  it  more 
gracefully. 

For  strings  I  again  resorted  to  the  skin  of  the  panther ; 
there  was  no  want  of  slender  reeds  to  serve  as  arrows,  and 
sharp  bits  of  flint  supplied  me  with  the  heads. 

I  cannot  say  that  I  had  any  great  faith  in  these  weapons. 
To  be  sure,  I  could  hit  the  tree  which  we  used  as  a  mark, 
and  which  was  not  more  than  two  feet  in  diameter,  nearly 
every  time,  at  a  distance  of  fifty  feet ;  but  with  a  panther  I 
feared  my  hand  might  not  be  quite  so  steady ;  and,  even  if 
I  happened  to  hit  him,  I  was  far  from  feeling  sure  that  he 
would  mind  it.  But  Alice,  in  her  simplicity,  seemed  to  think 
that  the  very  sight  of  these  formidable  weapons  would  be 
enough  to  terrify  any  wild  beast  whatever ;  and,  as  I  was 
willing  to  humor  her,  I  kept  my  doubts  to  myself,  simply 
taking  care  to  carry  my  axe  with  me  when  we  went  abroad, 
for  that  I  knew  could  be  depended  on. 

I  tried  at  first  to  persuade  Alice  to  remain  at  home,  while 
I  was  gone  on  these  expeditions,  with  ITamlet  to  keep  her 
company ;  but  she  would  not  listen  to  this  proposition  for  a 
moment;  nor,  indeed,  was  I  at  all  inclined  to  press  the  matter, 


BREVITY    BILL.  123 

for  I  could  not  bear  to  be  separated  from  her,  even  for  an 
hour,  and  should  be  constantly  alarmed  lest  some  evil  should 
befall  her  in  my  absence.  Besides  the  danger  from  wild 
beasts,  which,  if  I  could  not  entirely  prevent,  I  would  at  least 
share  with  her,  the  doubt  I  felt  as  to  the  safety  of  my  prisoner 
was  a  continued  source  of  anxiety. 

I  could  never  feel  certain  that  he  might  not  at  any  moment 
effect  his  escape.  I  had  taken  care  to  supply  him  with  all 
the  tigs  he  could  eat ;  but,  instead  of  growing  fatter,  he  grew 
thinner  every  day.  And  the  thinner  he  grew  the  more  I 
feared  him.  I  remembered  what  Caesar  said  of  Cassius,  and 
trembled.  Fasting,  I  knew,  was  always  said  to  sharpen  the 
wits ;  and,  though  Brevity  Bill  had  never  been  very  remark 
able  for  shrewdness,  there  was  no  knowing  how  far  his 
faculties  might  be  developed  by  this  new  treatment. 

He  was  evidently  getting  to  be  a  most  desperate  thinker. 
Instead  of  the  merry,  good-natured  fellow  he  had  formerly 
been,  talking,  laughing,  and  singing,  all  day  long,  he  was  now 
become  strangely  silent  and  abstracted,  and  almost  sullen. 
Whenever  I  went  to  make  him  a  visit,  I  almost  always  found 
him  sitting  on  a  stone,  with  his  head  between  his  hands,  or 
pacing  slowly  up  and  down  the  beach,  with  his  eyes  fixed  on 
the  ground,  like  one  engaged  in  painful  meditation. 

At  such  times  he  hardly  noticed  my  approach,  and  would 
not  even  stop  to  thank  me  for  my  trouble.  It  was  easy  to 
see  that  he  was  far  from  being  satisfied  with  my  treatment  of 
him,  and  fully  believed  that  nothing  was  wanting  but  a  willing 
ness  on  my  part  to  extricate  him  from  his  present  unhappy 
situation. 

And  to  a  certain  extent  I  could  not  help  feeling  that  he 
was  right.  If  I  had  really  wished  to  help  him  out,  I  had 
little  doubt  that  I  could  do  so.  It  cost  me  indeed  no  little 


124  THE   NEW    AGE   OF   GOLD. 

ingenuity  to  quiet  my  uneasy  conscience,  especially  when 
Alice  argued,  as  she  often  did,  in  his  behalf;  and,  on  such 
occasions,  the  only  way  in  which  I  could  satisfy  myself  and 
her  was  by  promising  to  do  all  I  could  to  relieve  him  as  soon 
as  I  could  find  time  from  other  more  pressing  duties. 

The  melancholy  results  of  this  procrastination  I  shall  relate 
hereafter ;  at  present  I  must  return  to  my  story. 

As  I  expect,  however,  to  find  myself  wandering  away  again, 
before  long,  and  not  once  only  but  many  times,  or,  indeed, 
whenever  I  feel  any  inclination  to  do  so,  I  trust  no  one  will 
be  surprised  on  that  account,  as  if  I  had  been  guilty  of  any 
error  ;  for,  as  there  were  no  roads  in  any  part  of  our  island, 
and  when  we  walked  we  rambled  here  and  there,  wherever 
chance  or  fancy  led,  with  no  fear  of  guide-posts  before  our 
eyes,  so  I  see  no  reason  why  I  should  not  tell  my  story  in  the 
same  way,  without  consulting  any  pitiful  critic  whatever. 

If  ever  I  attempt  to  describe  the  manners  and  customs  of 
civilized  life  —  which  Heaven  forefend !  —  I  freely  promise  to 
conform  to  all  the  rules  laid  down  in  such  cases  ;  but  this  is 
my  own  domain,  never  profaned  by  plough  or  harrow ;  I 
received  it  fresh  from  the  hands  of  its  Maker,  and  I  am  only 
sorry  that  I  cannot  make  more  of  its  wild  and  savage  freedom 
breathe  through  these  pages. 

It  was  early  morning  when  Alice  and  I  and  the  bear  set 
out  on  our  journey. 

The  reader  may,  perhaps,  wonder  that  I  should  mention 
this  last  individual  so  often,  and  may  possibly  go  so  far  as 
even  to  entertain  a  contempt  for  bears.  But,  if  so,  I  am  sorry 
for  him  ;  for  I  consider  myself  a  judge  in  such  matters,  and 
I  can  assure  him  that  bears  are  far  more  sensible  than  is 
commonly  supposed.  I  do  not  deny,  however,  that  I  once 
held  a  very  different  opinion.  I  can  remember  when  I  was 


CHARACTER    OF    HAMLET.  125 

as  much  prejudiced  against  them  as  any  one  else.  I  regarded 
the  bear,  as  many  others  still  do,  as  a  weak,  frivolous  creature, 
much  given  to  dancing,  and  inordinately  fond  of  sleep  ;  with 
out  force  or  dignity  of  character,  and  ready  at  all  times  to  be 
hail-fellow-well-met  with  monkeys  and  such  disreputable 
associates. 

But  I  had  not  been  long  acquainted  with  Hamlet  before  I 
discovered  how  greatly  I  had  been  deceived.  Instead  of  the 
ignorance  and  frivolity  I  had  expected,  I  soon  found  him 
possessed  of  such  a  stock  of  information,  and  of  such  profound 
and  enlightened  views  on  a  great  variety  of  subjects,  as  would 
have  done  credit  to  one  much  older  than  himself.  There  was 
a  strength  and  solidity  about  all  his  movements  that  excited 
my  unqualified  admiration.  The  astonishing  foresight  and 
sagacity  he  displayed  on  every  occasion,  his  imperturbable 
coolness  in  the  midst  of  danger,  and,  above  all,  the  nobility 
and  generosity  of  his  temper,  T  do  not  think  I  have  ever  seen 
equalled.  His  tenderness  and  sensibility  would  have  seemed 
remarkable  even  in  a  woman,  and  were  rendered  in  him  all 
the  more. attractive  by  contrast  with  the  sterner  and  more  rug 
ged  qualities  with  which  they  were  allied. 

To  be  sure  he  was  sometimes  rather  more  taciturn  than  I 
wished,  and  indeed  was  never  much  given  to  talking,  but 
when  he  did  open  his  mouth  it  was  sure  to  be  something  worth 
listening  to  ;  and,  on  the  whole,  I  much  preferred  having  him 
so  than  if  he  had  erred  on  the  other  side.  If  ever  I  happened 
to  feel  like  talking,  I  was  sure  to  find  in  him  an  attentive  and 
appreciative  listener;  and,  if,  on  the  other  hand,  I  was  in 
clined  to  be  silent,  I  was  never  disturbed  by  his  idle  chatter. 

In  short,  I  not  only  esteemed  him  for  the  excellence  of  his 
understanding,  but  I  loved  him  for  the  goodness  of  his  heart ; 
11* 


126  THE   NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD. 

and,  if  the  reader  is  not  already  of  the  same  way  of  thinking, 
I  am  satisfied  that  he  will  be  before  he  gets  through  my  story. 

So,  as  I  was  saying,  Alice  and  I  and  the  bear  all  went 
along  together,  on  that  glorious  summer  morning,  —  ah  !  so 
many  years  ago  ! 

AVe  descended,  as  before,  into  the  valley,  and  having 
stopped  for  a  moment  under  the  great  fig-tree  to  supply  our 
selves  with  the  day's  provisions,  we  continued  our  course 
along  the  brook,  and  soon  came  to  the  same  impenetrable 
jungle  that  had  barred  our  way  on  the  former  occasion. 

As  this  seemed  to  extend  back  a  considerable  distance  into 
the  country,  and  it  would  require  a  long  circuit  to  make  our 
way  around  it,  I  took  Alice  in  my  arms  and  waded  across  the 
stream,  here  about  three  feet  deep,  to  the  opposite  bank,  where 
the  walking  was  more  easy.  The  soil  on  this  side  was  very 
dry  and  sandy,  but  extremely  fertile,  so  that  the  vegetation 
seemed  almost  strangled  by  its  own  luxuriance.  I  kept  ex 
pecting  every  moment  to  perceive  the  fragrance  of  orange 
blossoms,  or  to  see  the  yellow  fruit  glowing  among  the  dark 
foliage  ;  but,  though  there  seemed  to  be  almost  every  variety 
of  tree  that  could  be  thought  of,  not  one  of  them,  as  I  could 
discover,  bore  anything  but  leaves  and  flowers. 

We  were  determined,  however,  not  to  go  back  without  a 
thorough  search,  and  still  continued  to  advance,  though  our 
progress  was  extremely  slow  and  toilsome. 

Sometimes,  after  advancing  with  tolerable  ease  for  two  or 
three  hundred  yards,  we  found  it  impossible  to  go  any  further, 
and  were  consequently  obliged  to  retrace  our  steps,  and  make 
another  trial  in  a  different  direction.  Now  we  kept  close  to 
the  stream,  and  now  wandered  so  far  away  that  its  hollow 
murmur  was  lost  among  the  woods.  Every  step  cost  us  five. 

All  this  was  bad  enough  for  me  and  the  bear,  but  it  was 


OUR    WARDROBE.  127 

far  worse  for  Alice.  Her  dress  was  a  constant  encumbrance. 
Indeed  I  now,  for  the  first  time,  perceived  the  astonishing 
inconvenience  of  female  attire,  and  what  marvellous  ingenuity 
has  been  displayed  in  its  construction.  It  answers  its  purpose 
so  admirably  that  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  anything,  except, 
perhaps,  a  meal-bag,  that  could  be  regarded  as  an  "improve 
ment.  It  admits,  to  be  sure,  of  a  species  of  locomotion  ;  the 
unhappy  wearer  is  not  entirely  debarred  the  use  of  her  limbs, 
though  I  have  seen  a  litter  of  kittens  tied  up  in  a  bag,  like  a 
Turkish  beauty  about  to  try  the  waters  of  the  Bosphorus,  that 
seemed  capable  of  quite  as  vigorous  exertion. 

Alice  would  have  been,  in  some  respects,  much  better  off  if 
she  had  been  provided  with  a  similar  costume.  She  could 
hardly  take  a  step  without  some  part  of  her  dress  catching  in 
the  branches,  and  an  Indian  scout  would  have  little  difficulty 
in  following  our  trail,  by  means  simply  of  the  many  streamers 
of  calico  or  muslin  that  fluttered  all  along  our  path. 

In  this  way  she  bid  fair  in  a  short  time  to  have  not  even 
a  rag  left  about  her,  till  at  last,  an  unlucky  stumble,  that  rent 
her  skirt  from  top  to  bottom,  put  the  finishing  touch  to  her 
misfortunes. 

This  series  of  accidents  set  me  upon  thinking  of  some  way 
in  which  to  replenish  our  scanty  wardrobe.  If  I  could  only 
have  spent  a  few  minutes  in  Oak  Hall,  or  any  one  of  those 
many  stores  I  had  passed  so  often,  I  could  easily  have  selected 
a  supply  of  clothing  sufficient  to  last  our  lifetime  ;  but,  as  this 
was  plainly  out  of  the  question,  nothing  seemed  left  to  me  but 
to  fall  back  at  once  upon  my  own  unaided  exertions. 

And  here,  at  the  very  outset,  two  serious  difficulties  pre 
sented  themselves.  The  first  was  the  want  of  something  to 
make  our  clothes  of;  the  second  the  want  of  tools  to  make 


THE    NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 


them  with.     Until  one  or  both  these  wants  were  supplied,  it 
seemed  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  go  any  further 

1  had  read,  to  be  sure,  of  such  a  thing  as  a  shirt-tree,  where 
ready-made  shirts  could  be  obtained  at  the  shortest  notice,  and 
suited  to  every  size,  from  Tom  Thumb  to  the  Kentucky  giant  ; 
but  shirts  alone  would  hardly  be  sufficient,  nor,  if  they  had 
been,  should  I  have  known  exactly  where  to  look  for  them. 

I  now  regretted  exceedingly  that  the  time  I  had  wasted  on 
Latin  and  Greek  had  not  been  more  profitably  employed  in 
studying  Natural  History,  or  in  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the 
mechanic  arts.  There  was  no  other  knowledge  likely  to  prove 
half  so  useful,  and  hardly  any  other  in  which  I  was  so 
deficient.  Indeed,  I  knew  far  more  of  men  who  lived  and  died 
a  thousand  years  ago,  and  with  whom  I  had  absolutely  no 
concern  whatever,  than  of  the  trees  and  flowers  that  grew  by 
my  door,  and  might,  in  so  many  ways,  contribute  to  my  hap 
piness.  But  it  was  too  late  now  to  remedy  this  blunder.  I 
must  do  the  best  I  could  with  my  imperfect  knowledge,  and 
make  experiment,  as  far  as  possible,  take  the  place  of  books. 

However,  clothes  of  some  sort  we  must  have,  and  without 
any  great  delay.  But  what  should  I  make  them  of?  The 
only  piece  of  cloth  in  my  possession  was  the  canvas  that 
funned  our  sail,  and  that  was  altogether  too  rotten  to  pay  for 
the  trouble  of  making  up.  Certain  kinds  of  bark,  I  remem 
bered,  were  sometimes  used  for  this  purpose  ;  but  I  neither 
knew  where  to  find  that  bark,  nor  how  to  prepare  it. 

But  though  I  had  no  cloth,  the  antelopes  had  plenty,  or 
what  would  do  nearly  as  well  ;  and  I  determined  to  apply  to 
them  without  delay.  A  suit  of  chamois  leather,  well  fitted  to 
our  forms,  but  not  too  tight,  would  be  just  what  we  wanted  ; 
and  I  already  contemplated  with  admiration  the  pretty  figure 
of  my  charming  Alice  set  off  to  advantage  by  so  becoming  an 


REST   AND    COOLING    STREAMS. 


129 


attire.  The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  this  undertaking,  and 
the  slow  degrees  by  which  I  ultimately  arrived  at  perfection, 
did  not  at  that  time  occur  to  me.  I  found  them  out  after 
wards,  however,  every  one. 

All  the  time  I  had  been  thus  meditating,  we  had  continued 
to  push  our  way  further  and  further  into  the  woods,  but  with 
out  finding  anything  to  reward  our  labor.  It  was  an  hour  or 
more  since  we  had  left  the  river,  and  the  sun  being  now  near 
the  zenith,  we  had  nothing  to  direct  our  course.  We  were 
all  tired  enough  to  sit  down  and  rest ;  but  our  thirst  was  even 
greater  than  our  fatigue,  and  we  still  held  on  our  way,  drag 
ging  one  foot  wearily  after  the  other,  in  hopes  every  moment 
of  coming  out  upon  the  banks  of  the  stream,  which  I  felt  sure 
could  now  be  at  no  great  distance.  The  event  showed  that  I 
was  not  mistaken.  A  few  steps  further,  and  our  ears  caught 
the  low  murmur  of  the  river  coming  through  the  drowsy  air. 
We  hastened  forward,  and  the  next  moment  were  all  three 
quenching  our  thirst  in  its  limpid  waters. 


CPIAPTER    X. 

Journey  continued.  —  Halt  on  the  Banks  of  the  River.  —  Tropical  Scen 
ery.  —  Oranges.  —  Sailing  Boats.  —  Reflections.  —  Sleeping.  —  Wak 
ing.  —  Mysterious  Disappearance  of  Alice.  —  My  Horror  and  Alarm. 
—  The  Pursuit.  — The  Black.  — The  Death  Struggle.  — Hamlet  comes 
to  the  Rescue.  —  Night  in  the  Woods.  —  Horrors  of  our  Situation. — 
I  determine  to  leave  the  Island. — Morning. — Strange  Discovery. — 
The  Pongo.  — My  Relief.  —  We  renew  our  Journey.  — Hamlet's  Deci 
sion. 

DARK  and  heavy  mangroves  threw  their  shadows  over  the 
sparkling  flood.  Light,  feathery  bamboos,  with  their  delicate 
plumage  stirred  by  the  gentlest  breeze  —  gigantic,  nodding 
forms  ;  the  fragrant  lime,  the  aloe  with  its  clustering  flowers, 
with  here  and  there  the  jointed  trunk  of  some  gigantic  cactus, 
rising,  like  a  pillar  of  green  marble,  to  a  height  of  twenty  or 
thirty  feet ;  besides  hundreds  of  others  of  which  I  knew  not 
either  the  name  or  the  nature  —  all,  alike,  proclaimed  the 
beauty,  the  wealth,  and  the  luxuriance  of  that  land  of  the 
sun. 

Vines  and  parasites,  in  endless  variety,  flaunted  on  every 
side.  Some,  long  and  strong  enough  for  the  cable  of  a  seven 
ty-four,  hung,  bare  and  knotted,  and  apparently  lifeless,  in  the 
air,  or  coiled,  like  "vegetable  boas,"  round  some  mighty  king 
of  the  forest,  that  seemed  half  strangled  in  their  embraces. 
Others  stretched  their  leafy  screens  from  tree  to  tree,  or  threw 


ORANGES.  —  BOAT-SAILING.  131 

it  over  their  heads,  like  a  bridal  veil,  falling  in  heavy  folds 
completely  to  the  ground,  and  embroidered  thick  with  flowers 
brighter  than  were  ever  wrought  by  art. 

But,  amid  all  the  surpassing  loveliness  of  the  scene,  my  eye 
still  wandered.  Beauty,  just  then,  was  not  all  I  sought. 
Other  senses  were  clamorously  demanding  their  share  in  the 
enjoyment. 

Near  the  bank  of  the  river,  on  the  edge  of  a  little  clearing, 
I  spied,  at  length,  the  golden  globes  of  the  orange, —  a  weight 
apparently  too  great  for  the  bending  branches.  I  hastened  to, 
the  spot,  and  exultingly  seized  in  my  longing  fingers  the  ripe 
and  luscious  booty.  Filling  my  handkerchief  with  the  largest 
and  fairest  I  could  reach,  I  hurried  back  to  Alice  ;  and  then, 
sitting  down,  side  by  side,  beneath  the  grateful  shadow  of  the 
bamboos  that  joined  their  pointed  arches  overhead,  with  the 
little  river  at  our  feet,  we  gave  ourselves  up,  unresisting,  to 
all  the  mingled  pleasures  of  that  delicious  hour. 

The  earth,  the  air,  the  water,  the  very  rocks  themselves, 
were  prodigal  of  life,  but  a  life  of  infinite  repose.  The 
droning  hum  of  innumerable  insects,  "the  strange,  sweet 
harmonies  "  that  haunted  those  interminable  forests,  the  spicy 
odors  that  made  thick  the  dreamy  air,  all  conspired  to 
lull  our  souls  to  rest.  I  could  think  of  nothing  to  complete 
my  happiness.  I  looked  at  Alice,  and  saw  it  reflected  and 
more  than  doubled  in  her  eyes. 

After  satisfying  our  thirst,  we  amused  ourselves  with  mak 
ing  boats  of  the  orange-peel,  and  launching  them  on  the  rapid 
current,  to  see  which  would  sail  furthest  before  being  ship 
wrecked  among  the  mimic  breakers. 

Very  silly  and  childish,  I  dare  say,  it  was ;  but  what  need 
had  we  to  grow  old  ?  What  need  had  we,  in  that  little  para 
dise,  of  the  miserable  wisdom  of  the  world  ?  What  enemies 


132  THE   NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD. 

should  we  ever  have  to  contend  with,  that  we  need  give  up 
one  of  the  joys  of  youth  ? 

Industry,  study,  application,  careful  improvement  of  one's 
time,  and  all  such  mirth-destroying  phrases,  the  petty  artil 
lery  of  the  unhappy  pedagogue,  with  which,  year  after  year, 
and  age  after  age,  he  thunders  in  the  ear  of  the  rising  gener 
ation,  to  fright  them  along  the  flowery  paths  of  knowledge,  — 
what  had  we  to  do  with  them,  or  they  with  us  ? 

Let  those  torment  themselves  with  such  bugbears,  who  had 
still  their  way  to  make  in  the  world;  to  whom  fame,  wealth, 
position  in  society,  success  in  life,  were  not  yet  an  unmeaning 
sound ;  whose  hearts  were  yet  a  prey  to  ambition  and  corrod 
ing  care. 

But,  as  for  us,  what  better  had  we  to  do  than  to  enjoy  the 
passing  moment,  unterrified  by  thought  of  the  morrow,  and  to 
thank  God  for  having  cast  our  lot  on  that  silent  shore  ? 

So  we  sat,  and  watched  our  boats  sail  gayly  down  the 
stream,  till  they  were,  one  after  another,  swallowed  up  and 
lost  among  the  rapids;  without  once  thinking  of  drawing, 
from  their  unhappy  fate,  that  bitter  moral  that  would  have 
been  so  sure  to  present  itself  to  the  melancholy  philosophers 
of  the  world.  On  the  contrary,  we  hailed  each  new  disaster 
with  little  shouts  of  laughter,  and,  when  the  last  boat  had  dis 
appeared,  we  quietly  composed  ourselves  to  sleep,  trusting  to 
the  bear  to  guard  our  slumbers. 

After  sleeping,  as  I  supposed,  several  hours,  I  at  length 
awoke  and  looked  about  me.  The  stream  still  rushed  at  my 
feet,  cooling  the  sultry  air  with  its  gentle  murmur  ;  but,  aside 
from  this,  there  was  no  sound  abroad  in  all  the  woods.  The 
insects  had  ceased  from  their  play,  and  the  sleeping  winds 
had  forgot  to  call  new  music  from  the  sleeping  leaves.  The 
flowers  nodded  on  their  stems.  They,  no  more  than  we,  had 


MYSTERIOUS    DISAPPEARANCE   OP  ALICE.  133 

any  need  to  hurry  or  grow  old.     They  had  time  enough.     In 
that  blissful  isle,  life  seemed  an  uninterrupted  holiday. 

Unwilling  to  disturb  this  delicious  languor,  I  lay  still 
a  while  longer,  thinking  how  very  happy  I  was,  and  every  now 
and  then  smiling  to  myself  from  excess  of  joy. 

But  how  very  soundly  Alice  must  be  sleeping!  Though  so 
close  by  my  side,  I  could  not  hear  her  breathe.  I  half  won 
dered  that  she  had  not  waked  when  I  did.  Without  turning 
my  head,  1  slowly  stretched  out  my  hand  to  see  if  I  could 
reach  her.  Only  the  bare  turf  met  my  slow,  soft-gliding 
touch. 

^At  this,  a  strange  fear  seized  upon  me.     Now  thoroughly 
wide   awake,   I  started  half-upright,  and,   with  unbelieving 
eyes,  explored  the  spot  where  I  had  seen  her  last.     She  was 
not  there.     I  looked  for  her  on  every  side,  but  still  in  vain. 
Where  now  was  my  dream  of  bliss  ? 

But  perhaps  she  had  been  unable  to  sleep,  and,  being  un 
willing  to  disturb  me,  had  wandered  away  to  a  short  distance 
to  amuse  herself  with  gathering  flowers  until  I  should  awake. 
I  called  to  her  gently,  then  louder,  then  shouted  with  all 
my  might;  but  a  faint  and  fearful  echo  was  the  only  answer. 
^  What  could  have  become  of  her?     Had  she  fallen  into  the 
river  ?     Had  some  wild  beast  carried  her  away  ? 

I  should  certainly  have  heard  the  alarm.  It  could  not  be 
many  minutes  since  she  left  my  side.  The  grasses  and  the 
slender  stems  of  the  flowers,  pressed  down  by  her  lovely 
weight,  were  still  feebly  struggling  to  regain  their  upright 
positions.  She  could  not  be  far  away ;  yet,  if  she  heard  my 
voice,  how  could  she  resist  the  agony  of  my  entreaty  ? 

But  where  was  the  bear  ?    Had  he  gone  with  her  ?    I  would 
given  worlds  to  know;   for,  in  that  case,  I  should  have 
felt  comparatively  little  alarm  for  her  safety 
12 


134  THE    NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 

I  called  again,  but  all  was  silent  as  before.  What  fearful, 
boding  silence,  out  of  which  one  listens  to  hear  the  bursting 
cry  of  pent-up,  gathering  agony  ! 

Not  a  leaf  stirred  to  tell  me  where  she  had  gone.  I  fan 
cied  that  the  gray  old  trees  looked  at  me  in  cruel  mockery,  as 
if  they  could  have  told,  but  would  not.  Without  some  sign  I 
dared  not  leave  the  spot,  for  fear  of  going  further  and  further 
from  her. 

But,  at  this  moment,  I  heard  a  feeble  cry,  that  sounded  far 
off  among  the  woods.  It  was  so  faint  that  I  hardly  heard  it, 
and  might  have  been  caused  in  a  hundred  ways ;  but  some 
thing  whispered  that  it  was  the  voice  of  Alice,  and,  without 
waiting  to  hear  it  repeated,  I  dashed  aside  the  bushes,  and 
sprang  forward  in  the  direction  from  which  the  sound  pro 
ceeded. 

The  gray  old  trees  thrust  their  heavy  branches  in  my  path, 
the  long  vines  twined  themselves  about  my  feet,  my  face  and 
hands  were  torn  by  the  thorns,  but  I  heeded  them  not. 
Through  bog  and  mire,  over  rock  and  fallen  trees,  I  still  held 
on  my  way,  insensible  to  pain,  and  unconscious  of  fatigue. 

But  what  use  to  run,  with  nothing  to  direct  my  steps  ? 
How,  in  that  vast  and  gloomy  forest,  could  I  hope  to  find  all 
that  was  left  of  my  beloved  Alice?  for,  already,  I  saw  her 
torn  in  pieces  by  cruel  beasts  of  prey.  Her  last  sigh,  breath, 
ing  my  name,  came  feebly  to  my  ear. 

But,  hark  !  there  is  that  cry  once  more,  and  this  time  there 
can  be  no  mistake.  It  is  her  voice  I  hear,  but  what  strange 
cry  is  that  which  mingles  with  it  ?  It  surely  cannot  be  the 
bear. 

"  Alice  !  dear  Alice  !  "  I  cried,  "  I  am  coming.  —  0,  God  ! 
if  I  should  be  too  late!" 

I  run,  I  flew,  I  got  over  the  ground  I  know  not  how.    There 


STRUGGLE    WITH    THE    BLACK.  135 

was  a  sudden  rustling  and  crackling  among  the  branches  on  my 
right,  as  if  some  large  animal  were  forcing  his  way  rapidly 
through  them.  Panther,  lion,  tiger,  I  cared  not  what  it  was  ; 
I  was  ready  for  him.  It  must  be  one  or  the  other,  of  this  I 
felt  perfectly  sure,  as  well,  indeed,  I  might,  for  who  could 
ever  have  imagined  anything  so  prodigious  as  that  which  actu 
ally  happened  ? 

The  rustling  grew  louder,  mingled  with  savage  cries.  The 
next  moment,  a  tall  black  man  came  out  of  the  woods  some 
distance  before  me,  and  ran,  with  incredible  swiftness,  directly 
across  my  path.  In  his  arms  he  held,  with  careless  strength, 
the  slight  and  delicate  form  of  Alice,  but  whether  dead  or 
alive,  I  could  not  tell. 

The  sight  inflamed  my  soul  to  madness.  To  think  that  any 
other  arms  than  mine  should  fold  that  lovely  form  in  their 
embrace!  And,  worst  of  all,  a  hideous  savage!  I  darted  on 
his  track  like  fire  on  a  train  of  powder.  Through  all  his 
doublings,  I  never  lost  him  for  a  moment.  Already  I  thought 
my  knee  was  on  his  heart,  my  hand  on  his  throat.  He  was 
mine  ;  I  knew  it.  Despair  and  hate  had  turned  the  iron  of 
my  nerves  to  steel. 

His  strength  was  prodigious,  but  it  at  length  failed  him,  and 
he  could  run  no  further.  He  dropped  Alice,  and  turned  to 
stand  on  his  defence.  I  threw  myself  upon  him,  and  the 
next  moment  we  were  locked  in  a  mortal  embrace. 

I  am  far  stronger  now  than  I  was  then,  and  there  are  few 
men  who  would  like  to  contend  with  me ;  but,  even  now,  I 
should  think  twice  before  venturing  into  a  contest  with  so  for 
midable  an  enemy.  Nothing  but  the  unnatural  strength  com 
municated  by  excitement,  could  have  enabled  me  to  withstand 
him,  even  for  a  moment.  Then  he  folded  me  in  his  long  and 
powerful  arms,  and,  with  a  tremendous  effort,  bore  me  back- 


136  THE   NEW   AGE    OF   GOLD. 

wards  to  the  earth.  His  hands  were  already  at  my  throat, 
and  thinking  that  my  last  hour  had  come,  I  turned  my  eyes 
for  the  last  time  fondly  on  my  beloved  Alice,  and  commended 
my  soul  to  God. 

But,  as  I  looked,  I  saw,  through  the  shadows  of  evening, 
which  were  already  thickening  around  us,  the  well-known  form 
of  the  bear  just  emerging  from  among  the  trees.  Short  as 
the  moment  was,  I  yet  had  time  to  wonder  whether  he  would 
see  me,  and  what  course  he  would  take  for  my  relief. 

He  did  not  leave  me  long  in  doubt.  In  a  a  moment  he  was 
at  my  side.  The  next,  his  arms  were  thrown,  with  no  friendly 
hug,  around  the  breast  of  my  astonished  foe ;  those  fatal 
fingers  relaxed  their  hold,  and,  weak  and  breathless,  I  rose 
to  my  feet. 

I  leaned  against  a  tree  for  support,  and  gazed,  as  in  a 
dream,  on  the  contest  before  me.  It  was  too  unequal  to  con 
tinue  long.  Gigantic  as  was  the  strength  of  my  opponent,  it 
availed  him  little  against  the  iron  gripe  of  the  bear.  His 
strange,  barbarous  cries,  that  sounded  like  no  language,  died 
away,  his  struggles  grew  fainter  and  fainter,  then  ceased  alto- 
gether.  His  head  fell  back  with  a  dull,  heavy  sound,  upon 
a  root  of  the  tree  against  which  I  was  leaning.  It  was  the 
first  death  I  had  ever  witnessed,  and  the  astonishing  lifeless- 
ness  of  the  limbs,  the  flabbincss  that  came  at  once  over  the 
whole  body,  filled  me  with  strange  dread. 

A  feeble  cry  from  Alice  now  called  me  to  her  side.  All 
this  time  I  had  entirely  forgotten  her.  Nothing  else  could 
show  "so  plainly  the  fearful  confusion  into  which  my  mind  was 
thrown.  I  sat  down  on  the  ground,  and  held  her  head  in  my 
lap,  while  I  chafed  her  cold  temples  with  my  tremblino-  fin 
gers.  She  shuddered  and  groaned,  and,  fearful  of  returning 
danger,  I  whispered  her  dear  name  and  my  own ;  I  pressed 


ALICE'S  ACCOUNT.  137 

my  lips  to  hers,  —  a  long,  a  stolen  kiss,  —  and  sought,  in 
every  way,  to  dispel  her  fears  and  bring  her  back  to  lite. 

"  Alice  !  dear  Alice  !  "  I  cried,  "  do  speak  to  me  !  say  that 
you  do  not  mean  to  die!  Why  do  you  groan  and  shudder? 
No  harm  can  happen  to  you  now.  I  am  holding  you ;  can't 
you  see  me  ?  " 

"  0,  yes*,"  she  murmured,  "  I  see  you  now.  I  thought  it 
was  that  frightful  black  man  ;  —  but  where  is  he?  Won't  he 
come  back  ?  Let  us  go  home  —  let  us  run  —  let  us  leave  this 
dreadful  place !  "  and,  so  saying,  she  strove  to  rise,  but  her 
strength  failed  her,  and  she  sank  back  into  my  arms.  The 
short  twilight  of  the  tropics  was  over  before  she  recovered 
sufficiently  to  give  me  an  account  of  her  misfortunes. 

She  had  waked  first,  as  I  had  conjectured,  and,  finding  me 
so  quietly  sleeping,  had  wandered  away  in  search  of  flowers  ; 
but  had  hardly  entered  the  edge  of  the  forest,  when  she  en 
countered  the  black ;  who,  without  giving  her  time  to  run, 
caught  her  in  his  arms,  and  ran  with  her  into  the  woods.  Af- 

O 

ter  running  a  considerable  distance,  he  s:it  down,  and  began 
talking  to  her  in  the  strangest  gibberish,  making,  all  the  time, 
such  horrible  faces,  that  she  had  to  shut  her  eyes  so  that  she 
might  not  see  them.  At  this  moment  the  sight  of  the  bear, 
who  just  then  made  his  appearance,  compelled  him  to  take 
once  more  to  flight.  It  was  then  that  she  uttered  the  cry, 
which  had  first  shown  me  which  way  to  run.  The  same  thing 
had  happened  repeatedly,  for  whenever  he  stopped  the  bear 
was  sure  to  overtake  them ;  but  she  had  at  length  fainted 
from  excess  of  terror,  and  knew  nothing  of  what  followed  until 
she  found  herself  in  my  arms. 

Ah  !  the  good,  honest,  faithful  bear  !     It  was  the   second 
time  that  we  had  owed  our  lives  to  his  assistance.    And  I  had 
not  even  so  much  as  thanked  him.      Even  when  he  came  and 
12* 


138  THE   NEW   AGE   OP   GOLD. 

stood  by  my  side,  and  strove  to  win  my  regard  by  rubbing 
his  head  against  my  shoulder,  and  similar  mute  expressions 
of  sympathy  and  affection,  I  had  been  too  much  engrossed 
with  my  care  for  Alice  to  pay  him  any  attention ;  till,  at 
length,  as  if  perceiving  the  hopelessness  of  his  endeavors,  he 
had  retired  to  a  short  distance,  and,  stretching  himself  on  the 
ground,  with  his  eyes  earnestly  fixed  on  us,  waited  patiently 
till  we  should  be  at  liberty  to  bestow  some  of  our  thoughts  on 
him.  Then  he  quite  surprised  me  by  his  excessive  transports, 
so  unlike  the  usual  stoical  gravity  of  his  demeanor;  and  this 
ardor  was  all  the  more  pleasing,  because  he  evidently  did  all 
he  could  to  restrain  it.  But,  finding  it  of  no  use,  he  at  length 
gave  up  all  attempt  at  concealment,  and  became  so  riotous  in 
his  delight  that  Alice  and  I,  notwithstanding  our  painful  situ 
ation,  could  not  wholly  resist  the  contagion  of  his  example. 

We  would  gladly  have  left  so  disagreeable  a  neighborhood, 
but  it  was  now  too  dark  to  find  our  way  back  to  the  river,  and 
we  were  afraid  even  to  move,  lest  we  should  stumble  over  that 
frightful  corpse.  Alice  lay  all  night  in  my  arms,  for,  after 
what  had  happened,  I  could  not  trust  her  even  a  foot  away ; 
and  she,  too  innocent  herself  to  think  of  harm,  offered  no 
objection. 

The  bear  stretched  himself  at  our  feet,  the  trees  nodded 
overhead,  the  stars  peeping  through  the  branches  rubbed  their 
winking  eyes ;  all  around  was  wrapt  in  quiet  so  profound  that 
I  could  hardly  persuade  myself  that  the  dreadful  scene  through 
which  we  had  just  passed  was  anything  more  than  a  hideous 
dream.  But,  if  really  true,  our  situation  was  indeed  deplor 
able.  As  long  as  I  supposed  the  island  uninhabited,  I  cared 
little  for  the  dangers  arising  from  wild  beasts.  At  night,  our 
house  was  a  sufficient  protection ;  and  by  day,  with  the  bear 


DETERMINATION   TO    LEAVE   THE    ISLAND.  139 

for  an  ally,  we  could  safely  bid  them  defiance.      In  time,  we 
might,  perhaps,  exterminate  them  altogether. 

But  against  a  tribe  of  savages  our  feeble  strength  would 
avail  but  little.  We  should  never  be  secure  from  their  attacks 
by  day  or  night.  Better,  then,  not  to  live  at  all,  than  to  live 
thus  constantly  encompassed  by  dangers. 

What  a  strange  comment,  I  thought,  on  human  nature,  that 
the  moment  I  discover  the  presence  of  a  fellow-being  on  the 
island,  instead  of  rejoicing,  I  am  plunged  in  such  perplexity 
and  alarm  !  Instead  of  an  aid  and  comfort,  I  look  upon  him 
as  my  natural  enemy,  and  see  no  way  of  saving  my  own  life 
except  by  destroying  his. 

These  dismal  meditations  kept  me  busy  nearly  all  the  niMit. 
Every  leaf  that  moved  I  thought  was  caused  by  the  footsteps 
of  some  prowling  savage.  Wherever  I  turned  my  eyes,  I  was 
sure  to  see  some  mysterious  shadow,  that  my  heated  fancy  at 
once  transformed  into  a  human  shape.  Every  moment  I 
expected  to  be  startled  by  a  fearful  cry,  or  to  feel  an  arrow 
quivering  in  my  heart. 

I  determined  to  leave  the  island  as  soon  as  possible.  Better 
commit  ourselves  to  the  deceitful  sea,  than  trust  the  cruel 
mercies  of  man.  I  would  abandon  my  brief  dream  of  happi 
ness,  and  return  to  the  bitter,  envious  world  I  had  left,  as  I 
had  fondly  hoped,  forever. 

But,  perhaps,  after  all,  the  savage  we  had  slain  might  have 
been  the  only  one  on  the  whole  island.  He  might  have  been 
driven  thither  by  stress  of  weather,  and  been  unable  to  find 
his  way  back  to  his  native  country.  If  he  had  any  compan 
ions,  it  was  very  strange  that  we  had  not  met  them  before. 

At  all  events,  their  number,  it  seemed,  could  not  be  large, 
and,  by  using  proper  precaution,  we  might  avoid  them  alto 
gether  ;  or,  if  we  met,  there  was  no  certainty  that  the  advan- 


140  THE   NEW   AGE   OF    GOLD. 

tage  would  not  be  on  our  side;  especially  if  we  called  in 
Brevity  Bill  to  our  assistance.  Our  effective  forces  would 
thereby  be  nearly  double  ;  and,  for  the  sake  of  Alice,  I  was 
will  ing  to  endure  the  restraints  his  society  would  impose  upon 
us.  I  therefore  made  up  my  mind  to  do  all  I  could  to  effect 
his  release  ;  and,  though  I  had  not  as  yet  thought  of  any  plan, 
I  had  no  doubt  that  a  little  ingenuity  would  enable  me  to 
accomplish  my  purpose. 

Alice  slept  peacefully  all  the  while,  her  head  resting  on  my 
breast,  and  I  was  glad  to  see  that  the  thoughts  which  distressed 
me  had  not  power  to  disturb  her  slumbers.  At  length,  weary 
and  exhausted,  I  fell  asleep. 

When  I  waked  the  next  morning,  and  looked  around  me, 
I  felt  the  same  sensation  of  mingled  fear  and  wonder  that  I 
had  often  experienced,  in  childhood,  on  first  opening  my  eyes 
in  a  strange  chamber.  I  could  not,  for  a  time,  remember  how 
or  when  I  came  there  ;  and  it  seemed  as  if  I  must  have  been 
transported  thither  in  my  sleep.  The  body  of  the  savage, 
lying  stark  and  stiff  not  far  from  where  we  had  been  sleeping, 
brought  all  the  circumstances  of  the  dreadful  story  at  once 
vividly  before  my  mind. 

I  rose  and  approached  him,  that  I  might  observe  his  feat 
ures  more  narrowly  than  on  the  preceding  evening.  I  had 
been  at  that  time  in  too  great  a  flurry  and  perturbation  to 
notice  anything  more  than  that  he  was  very  tall  and  strong, 
dressed  apparently  in  some  kind  of  skins,  and  that  his  voice 
sounded  strangely  barbarous  and  inhuman. 

What,  then,  were  my  horror  and  amazement  to  perceive,  at 
the  first  glance,  as  I  now  did,  that  the  enemy  who  had  caused 
us  all  this  suffering  was  not  a  man,  as  I  had  supposed,  but  a 
monstrous  orang-outang,  or  pongo,  as  I  believe  it  is  called 
by  naturalists,  more  hideously  ugly  than  it  is  possible  to  imag- 


STRANGE    DISCOVERY.  141 

ine,  and  rendered  still  more  repulsive  by  its  presenting  such  a 
startling  parody  of  humanity  ! 

The  low,  brutal  forehead,  the  flat,  misshapen  nose,  the  mon 
strous  jaws,  and  elevated  ears,  that  looked  as  if  they  could  be 
pinned  together  on  the  top  of  his  head,  the  extraordinary 
length  and  thinness  of  his  arms  and  legs,  and  the  hair  that 
covered  nearly  his  whole  body,  all  caused  me  to  wonder  that 
I  could  ever  have  been  deceived  as  to  his  true  character.  His 
vast  strength  and  swiftness  were  now  fully  accounted  for,  for 
I  knew  that  these  creatures  were  far  stronger  than  the  strono-- 

&  O 

est  men,  and  I  shuddered  to  think  of  the  fearful  danger  from 

O 

which  I  had  been  delivered. 

But  my  horror  at  this  discovery  was  no  greater  than  my 
relief.  It  was  no  slight  satisfaction  to  know  that  I  had  not, 
even  in  self-defence,  been  instrumental  in  causing  the  death  of 
a  human  being  ;  and  I  was  still  more  pleased  to  find  that  the 
savages  who  had  so  alarmed  me  existed  only  in  my  own  fanny. 
Thus  twice  I  had  been  led  to  believe  that  the  island  was 
inhabited,  and  twice  I  had  found  myself  mistaken. 

Before  leaving  the  spot,  I  determined  to  take  the  measure 
of  this  remarkable  animal.  With  both  my  arms  extended  at 
full  length,  I  could  reach,  the  last  time  I  made  the  trial,  five 
feet  and  nine  inches.  I  was  much  larger  now,  and  could 
probably  reach  several  inches  further.  If  this  were  so,  the 
pongo  must  have  been,  at  least,  six  feet  and  four  inches  in 
height ;  and  I  could  not  help  regretting  that  he  was  not  alive 
and  in  a  cage,  as  I  had  no  doubt  in  that  case  of  making  my 
fortune.  If  I  could  only  recover  him,  and  take  him  home  to 
America,  "  I  would  not  take  much  for  him." 

I  drew  the  dead  body  some  distance  into  the  woods,  that 
Alice  might  not  see  him  when  she  waked ;  and  then,  gently 
arousing  her,  we  set  forward  on  our  return  to  the  brook,  hop- 


THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

ing  to  find  the  spot  where  we  had  rested  the  day  before,  and 
where  we  had  left  the  axe,  as,  also,  our  bows  and  arrows. 

As  neither  of  us,  however,  had  much  knowledge  of  wood 
craft,  and  as  our  recollection  of  the  path  by  which  we  had 
come  was  necessarily  very  confused,  it  so  happened  that  we 
turned  too  far  to  the  right;  and,  when  we  reached  the  river, 
I  saw  at  once  that  it  was  a  place  where  we  had  never  been 
before.  This  obliged  us  to  ascend  the  stream  in  order  to 
recover  our  missing  property  ;  but,  fortunately,  the  distance 
was  not  great,  and  in  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  we  stood 
again  beneath  the  fairy  bower  where  our  blissful  dreams  had 
been  followed  by  such  a  fearful  waking.  Our  bows  and 
arrows  still  lay  where  we  had  left  them. 

Here  we  stopped  and  held  a  consultation  as  to  what  course 
it  would  be  best  for  us  to  take.  Alice  was  in  favor  of  return 
ing  home  immediately,  without  waiting  to  encounter  any  fur 
ther  danger ;  but  I  was  bent  on  following  the  brook  to  its 
termination,  in  order  to  find  where  it  emptied  into,  the  sea ;  for, 
in  sailing  round  the  island,  I  had  seen  nothing  that  looked  like 
the  mouth  of  a  river,  and  I  wished,  if  possible,  to  obtain  a 
solution  of  the  mystery.  This,  I  considered,  would  be  almost 
as  great  an  achievement  as  discovering  the  source  of  the  Niger ; 
and,  in  my  anxiety  to  accomplish  it,  I  forgot  everything  but 
the  glory  that  would  follow. 

Alice,  however,  had  no  such  curiosity.  She  had  not  yet 
begun  to  feel  the  same  interest  in  our  little  kingdom  that  I 
did,  and  its  geography  seemed  to  her  a  matter  of  not  the  least 
importance. 

Indeed,  I  could  not  help  feeling  somewhat  annoyed  at  the 
slighting  way  in  which  she  spoke  of  the' majestic  stream  which 
I  had  already,  in  my  own  mind,  determined  to  christen  the 


UAMLET'S  DECISION.  143 

Mississippi,  —  calling  it  a  foolish  little  brook,  a  rivulet,  and 
other  names  still  more  opprobrious. 

However,  as  we  could  not  agroe,  we  concluded  to  leave  the 
question  to  the  bear,  and  whichever  way  he  went,  \re  would 
follow.  To  my  great  satisfaction,  he  pushed  on  boldly  down 
the  stream.  Alice  playfully  reproached  him  for  his  want  of 
gallantry  in  daring  to  decide  against  a  lady,  but  made  no  fur 
ther  opposition ;  and  so,  in  great  good  humor,  we  proceeded  on 
our  way. 

And  very  fortunate  it  was  too ;  for  we  had  not  gone  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  when  we  came  to  a  grove  of  cocoa- 
palms,  that  stood  on  a  hill  not  far  from  the  river,  and  which, 
as  we  afterwards  found,  though  we  did  not  know  it  then,  was 
the  only  grove  of  palms  in  all  that  part  of  the  island. 


CHAPTER    XI. 


Journey  continued.  —  Cocoanuts.  —  Climbing  the  Palm.  —  March  along 
the  River. —  Hamlet's  Nonchalance.  —  The  Gum-tree. — An  involun 
tary  Confession.  —  Pleasant  Episode  with  the  Bear.  —  A  wonderful 
Medicine.  —  Toilsome  March.  —  The  Lake  of  the  Woods.  —  A  strange 
Boat. — My  Conjectures  concerning  it. — Pirates. — Going  Home. — 
Shall  we  go,  or  stay  ?  — Miseries  of  Social  Life.  —  A  fair  Exchange  no 
Robbery.  —  A  Surprise.  —  The  Crocodile.  —  Home  again.  —  An  Even 
ing's  Conversation.  — Thoughts  on  Death.  — A  Question  in  Ethics. 


THERE  was  hardly  any  sight  that  could  have  been  more  wel 
come.  For,  eating  nothing  but  figs,  as  we  had  now  done  for 
more  than  a  week,  with  now  and  then,  to  be  sure,  a  meal  of 
shell-fish,  was  not  only  surfeiting  to  the  palate,  but  had  begun 
seriously  to  injure  our  health ;  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  the 
cocoanut  was  just  what  we  wanted  to  correct  its  prejudicial 
effects.  The  two  together  would  form  a  very  wholesome  diet, 
though  neither  of  them  alone  would  afford  sufficient  variety  to 
satisfy  our  wants. 

We  accordingly  made  haste  to  ascend  the  hill,  but,  on  look 
ing  round  in  search  of  the 'fallen  fruit,  we  could  find  only  one 
or  two,  and  those  so  old  and  dry  that  they  were  hardly  fit  to 
be  eaten.  Not,  at  any  rate,  as  long  as  there  was  any  chance 
of  obtaining  better,  and  this  I  knew  I  could  do,  if  I  could 
only  find  means  to  climb  one  of  the  trees. 


CLIMBING    THE    PALM.  145 

This  was  an  undertaking  of  no  little  difficulty.  Hamlet, 
to  be  sure,  would  gladly  have  saved  me  the  trouble ;  but, 
unfortunately,  climbing  trees  had  formed  no  part  of  his  edu 
cation.  This  was  an  art  that  did  very  well  for  the  younger 
branches  of  his  family,  but  was  altogether  unsuited  to  his 
dignity.  I  might  as  well  expect  a  Greek  or  Hebrew  professor 
to  tell  me  the  price  of  leather.  I  preferred  rather  to  under 
take  the  task  myself;  so,  fortifying  my  courage  with  the  exam 
ple  of  Dr.  Johnson,  who,  I  remembered,  even  in  his  old  age, 
never  lost  his  passion  for  "  swarming,"  I  clasped  the  trunk 
with  my  hands  and  knees,  and  commenced  the  ascent. 

The  trunk  was  not  very  large,  which  made  my  labor  much 
easier ;  but  it  was  hard  work  for  all  that,  and  I  was  more 
than  once  on  the  point  of  giving  up  in  despair,  but  Alice  was 
watching  me,  and  I  persevered.  And  very  glad  I  was  of  it 
when  I  reached  the  top,  and  saw  the  noble  clusters  of  nuts 
that  hung  in  tempting  profusion  just  within  my  reach.  I  tore 
them  off  without  stopping  to  make  a  selection,  and,  as  I  threw 
them  down,  tried  to  see  how  near  I  could  come  to  the  bear 
without  hitting  him  ;  but  he  never  flinched  or  moved  a  muscle, 
any  more  than  Deersluyer  did  when  his  Indian  friends  used 
him  for  a  mark. 

I  broke  off,  also,  two  or  three  of  the  leaves,  that  Alice 
might  see  what  fans  were  made  of,  and  then  slipped  down  with 
far  less  trouble  than  I  ascended. 

We  found  the  young  nuts  perfectly  delicious.  The  meat 
was  of  about  the  same  consistency  as  new-made  cheese,  very 
sweet  and  milky,  and  as  different  as  possible  from  the  tough, 
fibrous,  indigestible  things  that  are  seen  at  home. 

We  could  not  stop  here  long,  however,  for  we  were  unwill 
ing  to  lose  any  more  of  the  morning  than  we  could  help  ;  so, 
having  supplied  ourselves  with  enough  of  the  fruit  to  last  us 
13 


146  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

for  several  days,  and  marked  the  spot,  that  we  might  have  no 
difficulty  in  finding  it,  we  once  more  resumed  our  journey. 

The  walking  here  was  much  easier  than  it  had  been  the  day 
before,  for  the  banks  were  higher,  and  the  country  more  open. 
Still  our  progress  was  slow,  for  Alice  stopped  often  to  rest,  or 
to  admire  the  beauty  of  the  scenery,  and  I  was  constantly  on 
the  look-out  for  approaching  danger,  or  in  hopes  of  making 
some  useful  or  entertaining  discovery ;  while  the  bear  trudged 
on  all  the  while,  with  an  air  of  sturdy  indifference,  as  much 
as  to  say  that  he  had  seen  far  finer  sights  in  his  life,  among 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  than  any  to  be  found  here ;  and,  as  for 
troubling  himself  about  the  manners  and  customs  of  such  a 
barbarous  country,  he  had  no  thoughts  of  doing  any  such 
thing.  In  short,  he  showed  himself  as  regular  a  John  Bull  as 
if  he  had  never  breathed  anything  but  London  fog  all  the  days 
of  his  life. 

We  stopped  at  noon  under  the  shadow  of  a  tree  that  grew 
all  by  itself  among  the  rocks.  On  its  leaves  and  branches  I 
noticed  numerous  small  particles  of  some  substance  that  looked 
like  gum.  They  were  of  different  sizes,  some  being  no  bigger 
than  a  pin's  head,  while  others  were  fully  as  large  as  a  lady's 
thimble.  In  one  place,  where  the  trunk  had  been  wounded  in 
some  way,  the  sap  had  flowed  out  in  sufficient  quantity  to 
form  quite  a  pile  upon  the  ground.  I  broke  off  several  speci 
mens  to  carry  home  with  me,  though  I  could  not  think  then 
of  any  way  in  which  they  would  prove  useful. 

Still  less  could  I  think  of  any  way  in  which  it  could  do  me 
harm.  It  was  not  in  human  wisdom  to  foresee  the  influence 
which  that  tree  should  exert  on  rny  future  destiny.  If  I  could 
have  seen,  for  a  moment,  the  miseries  it  would  bring  upon  ine, 
I  would  have  dug  it  up  by  the  roots,  though  I  had  nothing 
but  my  fingers  to  do  it  with.  I  would  have  torn  it  limb  from 


AN   INVOLUNTARY    CONFESSION.  147 

limb,  and  scattered  them  to  the  four  winds  of  heaven.  1 
would  not  have  left  a  twig  nor  a  leaf,  to  show  that  such  a  tree 
hud  ever  been. 

May  the  curses  of  heaven  fall  upon  it !  May  blight  and 
mildew  blast  it !  Let  no  rain  nor  dew  ever  water  its  branches ; 
let  no  bird  ever  build  in  it,  nor  beast  ever  shelter  himself  un 
der  its  shadow ;  and,  if  bird,  or  beast,  or  man,  goes  near  it, 
may  the  same  misfortune  befall  them,  that  they  may  help  me 
in  hating  and  cursing  it !  But  I  had  no  intention  of  making 
this  confession.  I  pray  you,  kind  reader,  bear  with  me,'  for 
indeed  I  am  not  often  thus  with  strangers.  It  is  only  at  such 
moments,  when  my  agony  comes  in  on  me  like  a  flood,  that  I 
am  betrayed  into  this  weakness. 

Have  I  not,  —  I  ask  it  in  all  sincerity,  —  kept  my  secret 
thus  far  tolerably  well?  Have  you  ever  supposed  from  my 
manner  that  it  was  otherwise  than  well  with  me?  If  not,  you 
surely  can  pardon  me  this  involuntary  disclosure ;  and,  in  re 
turn  for  your  forbearance,  I  will  promise  never  again  to 
obtrude  my  griefs  upon  you,  until  such  time  as  shall  render 
concealment  no  longer  possible.  Forget  then  this  .sudden 
burst  of  passion,  and  when  I  laugh,  and  jest,  and  play  the 
fool  for  your  amusement,  believe  that  I  am  in  earnest,  and 
that  I  am  as  merry  as  I  seem  ;  as  indeed  I  am. 

For  what  have  I  to  trouble  me?  Am  I  riot  wonderfully 
happy  ?  Was  I  ever  so  happy  in  my  whole  life  as  I  am  this 
moment?  Have  I  not  everything  to  make  me  so?  Have  I 
not  youth  and  wealth,  and  health  and  beauty?  Health!  if 
it  were  not  so  —  but  no  matter,  I  can  laugh  yet.  Ha!  ha! 

But  I  did  wrong  to  curse  that  tree.  It  intended  me  no 
harm,  and  perhaps,  after  all,  did  me  none.  For  all  I  knew, 
the  same  thing  might  have  happened  in  some  other  way.  At 
any  rate  I  will  try  and  think  so.  Come,  I  am  a  boy  once 


148  THE    NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 

more,  sitting  with  my  laughing  Alice  under  that  delicious 
shade !  She  is  laughing  at  the  bear,  and  scolding  him  for 
being  so  impolite  as  to  gape  in  company ;  or,  at  all  events,  if 
he  must  gape,  he  might  at  least  put  up  his  hand. 

"  Here  !  "  she  said,  tossing  him  a  large  fragment  of  gum, 
which  I  had  just  detached  from  the  mass  behind  me,  and 
which  had  not  yet  been  exposed  to  the  air  long  enough  to 
harden,  "  here  is  something  to  stop  your  gaping." 

All  unsuspicious  of  evil,  —  for  who  could  suspect  fraud  under 
so  fair  an  exterior  ?  —  the  wary,  though  simple-hearted  bear, 
who  would  have  been  more  than  a  match  for  Mctternich  with 
all  his  cunning,  was  now  circumvented  by  a  girl.  He  caught 
the  proffered  morsel  in  his  capacious  mouth ;  one  energetic 
bite,  and  all  was  over.  Those  fatal  jaws  no  second  bite 
intend. 

The  transformation  was  complete  and  instantaneous.  That 
wondrous  balsam  had  made  him  in  a  single  minute  as  harm 
less  as  a  lamb.  A  little  more  applied  to  his  claws,  and  he 
would  have  been  as  fit  a  member  of  the  Peace  Society  as 
the  learned  blacksmith  himself. 

How  sorry  I  was  at  that  moment  that  it  was  not  in  my 
power  to  communicate  such  an  inestimable  blessing  to  tho 
world !  How  would  the  unhappy  husbands  of  scolding  wives 
rejoice,  if  they  only  knew  where  to  obtain  such  a  simple 
remedy  !  And  what  unequalled  happiness  it  would  confer  on 
the  benevolent  and  humane,  to  know  that  there  was  no  longer 
any  need  of  destroying,  as  we  now  do  every  year,  hundreds 
of  ill-fated  dogs,  insane,  or  suspected  of  insanity,  —  thousands 
of  generous,  but  misguided  fleas,  —  and  millions  of  ants  and 
cockroaches,  whose  unrestrained  appetites  and  passions  at  pres 
ent  unfit  them  for  society. 

Give  them  a  little  of  this  marvellous  gum,  and  they  would 


EPISODE    WITH    THE   BEAR.  149 

no  longer  be  capable  of  mischief,  or  of  interfering  in  anyway 
with  our  comfort.  Consequently  they  might  live  and  be 
happy,  which  could  not  fail  to  be  a  source  of  great  consolation 
to  every  feeling  mind ;  or,  if  they  chose  to  die,  their  blood 
would  not  be  on  our  hands. 

Besides,  if  it  affected  them  all, —  that  is  to  say,  the  scolding 
wives,  mad  dogs,  fleas  and  mosquitoes  aforesaid,  —  as  it  did  the 
bear,  it  could  not  help  being  very  amusing.  Sometimes  he 
stood  on  his  heels,  and  then  again  on  his  head.  He  turned 
more  somersets  than  any  rope-dancer  or  politician  ever  heard 
of.  Such  a  bear  would  have  made  the  fortunes  of  all  the 


organ-grinders  in  New  York. 


All  the  while  his  mouth  was  closed  as  if  in  a  vice,  and  I 
began  now  to  be  seriously  alarmed  lest  he  should  lose  his  life 
by  this  new  kind  of  lockjaw ;  when  with  a  tremendous  effort, 
that  sent  him  rolling  heels  over  head  half  way  down  the 
bank,  he  at  length  freed  himself  from  this  awkward  encum 
brance. 

As  soon  as  he  rejoined  us,  thinking  it  might  be  a  pleasure 
to  him  to  gain  all  the  information  he  could  on  the  subject,  I 
made  haste  to  explain  to  him  that  the  attraction,  which  had 
cost  him  so  much  trouble,  was  called  by  philosophers  the 
attraction  of  cohesion,  to  distinguish  it  from  another  styled 
the  attraction  of  gravitation.  I  would  have  added,  also,  sev 
eral  other  facts  equally  entertaining,  but  as  he  did  not  seem 
disposed  to  make  a  proper  return  for  my  kindness,  I  deter 
mined  to  keep  them  till  he  should  be  in  a  humor  to  profit  by 
them.  Having  by  this  time  got  his  mouth  open  to  its  widest 
extent,  he  proceeded  to  clean  his  teeth  from  the  gum  that  still 
adhered  to  them  ;  and,  in  performing  this  operation,  he  cut  such 
a  woful  figure,  and  made  such  grotesque  faces,  that  I  could  not 
help  laughing.  In  fact,  I  laughed  so  hard  that  I  came  very 
13* 


150  TIIE   NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD. 

near  falling  into  the  brook,  till  at  last  I  saw  that  Hamlet  was 
getting  angry  ;  and,  as  I  had  too  much  regard  for  his  feel 
ings  willingly  to  offend  him,  I  made  haste  to  compose  my 
features  into  an  expression  of  gravity  more  befitting  his 
unhappy  condition. 

It  was,  as  near  as  I  could  judge  by  the  sun,  not  far  from 
four  o'clock  when  we  again  commenced  our  march.  The  face 
of  the  country  began  now  rapidly  to  change.  '  The  ground  was 
low,  and  sometimes  marshy,  the  vegetation  rank  and  luxuri 
ant,  so  as  to  make  our  progress  extremely  difficult,  and 
reminding  us  of  what  we  had  encountered  the  preceding  morn 
ing.  At  every  step  Alice  grew  more  urgent  to  return,  and  I 
should  certainly  have  yielded  to  her  entreaty,  had  I  not  been 
all  the  time  in  hopes  of  coming  out  upon  the  sea-coast,  and 
thus  making  our  way  home  with  much  greater  ease,  as  well  as 
pleasure,  than  if  we  returned  by  the  same  way  by  which  we 
had  come. 

I  accordingly  continued  to  worm  my  way  slowly  along 
through  these  various  obstacles,  sometimes  carrying  Alice  in 
my  arms,  and  at  others  holding  her  by  the  hand ;  till  we  came, 
just  at  dusk,  to  a  lake  of  considerable  size  that  stretched 
directly  across  our  path. 

Here  then,  as  it  seemed,  we  should  have  to  pass  the  night. 
The  prospect  was  anything  but  agreeable,  for  the  ground  was 
damp  and  cold,  and  the  whole  aspect  of  the  place  peculiarly 
gloomy  and  forbidding.  If  we  had  known  whereabouts  we 
were,  it  would  have  been  some  comfort ;  but  my  head  had 
become  completely  confused  by  our  frequent  turnings,  so  that 
I  had  no  longer  the  least  idea  of  our  true  position. 

Since  leaving  home,  we  had  travelled  perhaps  thirty  miles, 
though  in  a  direct  line  it  could  not  have  been  more  than  half 


A    STRANGE   BOAT.  151 

that  distance,  and  were  now,  as  I  supposed,  not  far  from  the 
western  extremity  of  the  island. 

The  idea  of  measuring  back  that  long  and  toilsome  journey, 
and  that  too  with  nothing  to  reward  us  for  our  labor,  was 
painful  in  the  extreme,  and  Alice  could  hardly  help  crying 
when  she  thought  of  it ;  though,  for  my  own  part,  I  should 
have  cared  comparatively  little  if  I  could  first  have  settled  the 
question  in  which  I  was  so  deeply  interested. 

There  seemed,  however,  no  other  alternative,  and  I  was 
obliged,  though  very  reluctantly,  to  abandon  all  hopes  of 
accomplishing  my  favorite  purpose.  In  order  to  obtain  a 
better  view  of  the  lake,  which,  from  its  peculiar  situation,  I 
had  already  named  The  Lake  of  the  Woods,  I  left  Alice  a  few 
moments  alone  with  the  bear,  and  bent  my  steps  towards  a 
little  projecting  point  which  I  had  discovered  at  no  great  dis 
tance  to  the  right. 

On  reaching  this  point  the  whole  of  the  little  sheet  of  water 
lay  spread  out  before  me,  girt  about,  as  it  seemed,  on  every 
side  by  an  impervious  forest.  On  looking  more  closely,  how 
ever,  I  discovered  nearly  opposite  the  spot  where  I  was  stand 
ing,  a  narrow  beach  of  sand,  and  at  the  further  end  of  this 
beach,  almost  hidden  among  the  bushes,  was  an  object  which 
I  had  little  difficulty  in  making  out  to  be  a  boat. 

Surprise  at  this  unexpected  discovery  left  me  at  first  no 
power  to  act,  but  the  next  moment  I  drew  back  hastily  among 
the  trees,  where  I  could  see  all  that  might  occur,  without 
being  myself  exposed  to  observation. 

There  was  no  person  in  the  boat,  nor  anywhere  near  it,  so 
far  as  I  could  discover ;  but  I  had  no  doubt  that  the  people 
were  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood,  and  until  I  knew  more 
about  them  I  determined  not  to  leave  the  shelter  of  the 
woods. 


152  THE    NEW    AGE    OF   GOLD. 

"While  thus  waiting  in  hopes  of  some  new  development,  I 
wearied  myself  with  endless  conjecture.  I  thought  at  first 
that  it  might  be  the  boat  in  which  my  companions  left  the 
ship  ;  but  that,  I  remembered,  had  been  stove  in  the  attempt 
to  land,  and  was,  besides,  much  longer  than  the  one  before  me. 

Perhaps  the  island  was  the  rendezvous  of  a  crew  of  pirates, 
the  place  where  they  hoarded  up  their  spoils,  and  to  which 
they  fled  at  the  approach  of  danger.  It  was  certainly  well 
fitted  for  such  a  purpose,  as  it  would  be  almost  impossible  for 
one  unacquainted  with  the  secret  passage  to  effect  a  landing. 
But  if  they  had  come  ashore  at  that  point,  how  happened  it 
that  I  found  them  in  such  a  remote  part  of  the  island  ?  There 
must  be  some  other  way  of  approach. 

But,  after  all,  the  most  probable  supposition  was  that  the 
boat  belonged  to  some  whaler  or  merchantman,  and  had  been 
sent  ashore  for  fresh  water.  If  I  could  only  reach  the  coast, 
I  should  undoubtedly  see  her  lying  at  anchor,  or  standing  off 
and  on,  waiting  for  the  men  to  come  aboard. 

Here  then  was  an  opportunity,  if  we  wished  it,  of  return 
ing  home  to  the  United  States.  We  had  only  to  wait  till  the 
boat's  crew  made  their  appearance,  when  they  would  at  once 
take  us  on  board  the  ship,  and  carry  us  wherever  she  hap 
pened  to  be  bound. 

Should  we  embrace  this  opportunity  ?  Should  we  return  to 
the  world  we  had  involuntarily  left,  or  remain  all  our  days  in 
our  distant  solitude?  In  which  way  should  we  be  likely  to 
obtain  the  greater  amount  of  happiness  ?  On  one  side  were 
all  the  advantages  of  social  and  civilized  life;  houses,  streets, 
ships,  steamboats,  railroads,  books,  newspapers,  concerts,  lec 
tures,  parties,  ice-cream,  bread  and  butter,  boots  and  shoes, 
linen,  tablecloths,  napkins,  umbrellas,  carpets,  pianos,  and  a 
thousand  more;  on  the  other,  freedom,  independence,  nature, 


SHALL   WE   GO   HOME,   OR   STAY?  153 

and  a  charm  I  cannot  describe.    I  thought  of  all  these  things, 
and  hesitated. 

Then  I  thought  of  the  dear  ones  at  home,  and  all  hesitation 
vanished.     I  must  see  them  again,  whatever  it  might  cost 


me 


But  they  were  poor,  and  I  should  be  so  too.  Could  I  bear 
to  look  upon  their  poverty  without  the  power  to  relieve  it  ? 

Could  I  mid  any  pleasure  in  their  society  with  my  soul  all 
the  while  under  that  dismal  shadow  ?  Could  I  bear  the  cold 
world's  frown,  or,  worse  still,  its  scornful  laugh? 

Could  I  flatter,  and  fawn,  and  cringe,  and  "  bend  the  preg 
nant  hinges  of  the  knee,"  to  men  whom  I  despised  ? 

Could  I  toil  and  struggle  day  after  day,  and  year  after 
year,  in  the  pursuit  of  riches,  till  my  hair  was  prematurely 
gray,  and  my  heart  prematurely  hard  ? —  could  I  give  up  the 
freshness  of  youth,  the  strength  of  manhood,  and  the  general 
mellowness  of  age  ?  —  and  all  for  what  ?  For  a  bare  living,  after 
all  ?  To  have  others  speak  well  of  me  ?  To  be  called  rich, 
or  wise,  or  great  ?  To  have  a  little  larger  house  than  my 
neighbor,  to  wear  finer  clothes,  to  eat  richer  food  ? 

Should  I,  for  this,  turn  my  heart  into  a  den  of  wild  beasts  ? 
Should  I  give  myself  up  to  the  rule  of  envy,  and  pride,  and 
avarice,  and  ambition  ? 

No,  not  while  I  had  a  rood  of  ground  to  call  my  own. 
Certainly  not,  while  I  had  those  glorious  woods  to  walk  in, 
such  noble  prospects  of  valley,  and  sea,  and  mountain,  to  gaze 
on,  such  wealth  of  nature  at  my  command. 

I  would  stay  where  I  was ;  I  would  have  nothing  more  to  do 
with  men.  They  had  not  used  me  well,  but  fortunately  I  did 
not  need  their  favor. 

At  the  same  time  there  were  several  articles,  that  we  might 
possibly  obtain  from  the  ship,  that  would  add  materially  to 


154 


TIIE   NEW  AGE   OF   GOLD. 


our  comfort.  True,  we  had  nothing  to  offer  in  return,  but  I 
had  no  doubt  that,  when  the  captain  came  to  know  our  situa 
tion,  he  would  cheerfully  do  all  in  his  power  to  assist  us.  As 
shipwrecked  mariners  we  had  a  claim  upon  his  kindness.  He 
certainly  would  not  refuse  to  take  us  on  board  his  ship,  and 
convey  us,  free  of  expense,  to  the  place  of  his  destination. 
And  if  we  chose  to  waive  that  privilege,  and  remain  where 
we  were,  we  had  a  perfect  right  to  demand  an  equivalent. 

Besides,  ships  in  those  seas  were  almost  always  jn  wimt 
of  hands  ;  and  the  services  of  an  able-bodied  seaman,  like 
Brevity  Bill,  ought  surely  to  be  regarded  as  a  sufficient  re 
muneration  for  any  petty  favors  we  might  receive.  To  be 
sure,  he  was  so  lazy  that  I  would  not  have  had  him  on  board 
my  ship  on  any  terms ;  but  the  captain  knew  nothing  about 
that,  and  it  was  not  my  business  to  talk  ill  about  my  neigh 
bor. 

Half  a  dozen  muskets,  a  barrel  of  gunpowder,  several  suits 
of  clothes  for  me  and  for  Alice,  a  chest  of  tools,  a  supply  of 
biscuit,  and  rice,  and  sugar,  with  a  variety  of  similar  useful 
articles,  I  thought  would  be  a  fair  exchange.  On  the  whole, 
I  was  very  glad  that  the  ship  had  come. 

These  thoughts  passed  through  my  mind  in  far  less  time 
than  it  has  taken  to  write  them.  A  few  moments  were  suffi 
cient  to  set  the  case  clearly  before  me  in  all  its  reality. 

But  having  arrived  at  the  conclusion  just  mentioned,  it 
occurred  to  me  that  it  would  be  as  well  to  consult  Alice. 
Perhaps  she  would  not  regard  the  matter  in  the  same  light 
that  I  did.  She  might  prefer  to  return  home  in  the  ship, 
and  leave  me  all  alone ;  for,  if  she  went,  I  certainly  should 
not  accompany  her.  If  she  chose  to  leave  me,  she  might.  I 
would  not  say  a  word  to  prevent  her.  My  heart  might  break, 
but  it  should  not  bend.  Not  even  by  a  look  would  I  attempt 


A    SURPRISE.  155 

to  influence  her  decision.  I  rather  hoped  she  would  go.  It 
would  be  so  pleasant  to  watch  the  sails  of  the  ship  that  bore 
her  away,  growing  less  and  less  in  the  distance,  till  they  finally 
sunk  beneath  the  horizon,  and  then  return  in  the  evening  to 
iny  mockery  of  home,  and  find  it  all  cold,  empty,  forsaken ! 
Could  any  misery  be  imagined  more  complete  and  satisfactory  ? 

But  away  with  all  such  morbid  fancies !  If  she  goes,  I 
will  go  with  her.  A  few  words  sufficed  to  explain  to  her  the 
nature  of  my  discovery,  and  to  arouse  in  her  mind  something 
of  the  same  excitement  I  had  myself  experienced.  She 
returned  with  me  to  the  place  I  had  just  left,  that  she  might 
see  with  her  own  eyes  the  object  that  had  produced  all  this 
commotion. 

After  what  I  have  written,  I  am  almost  ashamed  to  go  any 
further.  If  I  make  a  free  confession  of  my  folly  I  fear  I 
shall  never  be  able  to  recover  my  self-respect. 

But  it  is  time  I  was  past  all  such  weakness.  Scarcely  had 
Alice  cast  a  single  glance  in  the  direction  I  pointed  out  to 
her,  when  she  exclaimed  :  "  Why !  what  can  be  the  matter 
with  you  ?  It  is  only  our  boat  after  all." 

It  was  even  so.  The  brook  in  its  frequent  turnings  had  come 
back  at  last  almost  to  the  very  spot  from  which  it  started. 
The  discovery  I  had  gone  so  far  to  seek  lay  all  the  while  at 
my  own  door.  The  pirates,  that  had  so  alarmed  me,  the 
generous  captain,  from  whose  aid  I  had  hoped  so  much,  had 
no  longer  any  existence,  even  in  my  imagination.  I  concluded 
to  let  Brevity  Bill  remain  where  he  was  a  little  longer,  and 
to  do  without  the  gunpowder  and  other  matters  at  least  for 
the  present.  It  was  something  of  a  disappointment,  to  be 
sure ;  but  then  I  did  not  see  very  well  how  we  could  help  it. 

And  after  all  matters  might  have  been  a  great  deal  worse. 
Only  half  an  hour  before  we  were  complaining  bitterly  at 


156  TUB   NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD. 

having  to  sleep  on  the  wet  ground,  and  regarding  the  long 
journey  we  had  to  commence  in  the  morning  with  yet  more 
dismal  forebodings. 

But  now,  all  at  once,  without  any  agency  of  our  own,  we 
found  ourselves  at  home,  with  a  soft,  warm  bed  to  sleep  on, 
and  the  prospect  of  resting  the  next  day  as  long  as  we  pleased. 
Certainly  a  more  agreeable  surprise  it  would  be  hard  to 
imagine. 

Requesting  Alice  to  retire  a  few  steps  into  the  bushes,  I 
threw  off  my  clothes,  and  jumped  boldly  into  the  water,  intend 
ing  to  swim  across  the  lake,  as  I  should  find  that  much  easier 
than  making  my  way  along  the  shore.  I  had  reached  the 
middle  of  the  lake,  when,  turning  my  head  to  look  back  at 
Alice,  I  saw  a  monstrous  crocodile  making  directly  towards 
me.  Alice  discovered  my  danger  at  the  same  time,  and  sought 
to  warn  me  of  it  by  piercing  cries.  I  was  already  fully  aware 
of  my  perilous  situation,  but  fortunately  this  consciousness  did 
not  deprive  me  of  the  full  use  of  all  my  faculties. 

I  was  an  excellent  swimmer,  but  I  knew  that  it  was  impos 
sible  to  escape  by  flight ;  instead,  therefore,  of  attempting  it, 
I  turned  on  my  back,  and,  as  the  creature  approached  and 
opened  his  mouth  to  seize  me,  I  struck  both  rny  feet  against 
his  upper  jaw,  with  a  violence  that  inflicted  a  severe  wound  on 
my  left  foot  and  sent  a  thrill  through  my  whole  body. 

The  blow  could  not  have  given  the  crocodile  the  slightest 
pain,  but  it  evidently  took  him  entirely  by  surprise ;  and, 
before  he  could  make  up  his  mind  what  to  think  of.it,  I  was 
beyond  his  reach.  There  was  no  possibility,  however,  of 
mistaking  his  intentions,  and  I  determined,  if  I  ever  had  an 
opportunity,  to  repay  him  for  his  impertinence  in  a  way  that 
he  should  not  soon  forget. 

At  present  other  matters  demanded  my  attention.     A  few 


EVENING   CONVERSATION.  157 

strokes  of  the  oar  sent  the  boat  quite  across  the  lake.  Alice 
waited  till  I  had  dressed,  though  trembling  with  impatience 
to  see  if  I  had  really-escaped  unharmed,  and  then  rushed  into 
my  arms.  I  felt  at  that  moment  really  ashamed  of  my  trifling 
hurt,  and  should  have  been  ready  to  wish  that  the  alligator 
had  bitten  my  leg  off,  if  I  had  supposed  that  her  ardor  would 
have  been  in  the  same  proportion. 

We  were  both  perfectly  delighted  at  finding  ourselves  once 
more  at  home.  Indeed,  we  had  no  idea  before  how  much  like 
home  it  really  seemed.  Alice  declared  that  she  felt  as  if  she 
had  been  gone  a  month,  and  would  hardly  believe  me  when  I 
told  her  that  it  was  not  quite  two  days,  and  that  she  had  only 
a  single  pebble  to  put  into  her  shell.  She  had  expected,  so 
she  said,  to  put  in  three  at  least,  and  really  seemed  so  disap 
pointed  about  it  that  at  last,  to  comfort  her,  I  told  her  that 
she  might  put  in  one  more,  as  I  rather  thought  we  had  lost  a 
day  in  our  reckoning  at  our  first  landing  on  the  island. 

She  seemed  so  delighted  with  this  permission  that  I  was 
sorry  I  had  not  said  a  hundred.  If  I  had,  I  have  no  doubt 
that  she  would  have  believed  it  every  word  ;  for  her  simplicity 
was  marvellous,  and  her  "trust  in  me  as  firm  as  Ailsa 
rock." 

Though  we  had  been  gone  so  short  a  time,  however,  so 
many  things  had  happened  that  we  should  have  had  enough 
to  talk  about,  even  if  we  had  sat  up  until  morning.  But, 
of  all  our  adventures,  our  encounter  with  the  pongo  had 
naturally  produced  the  most  powerful  impression  upon  our 
imaginations.  Indeed,  Alice  was  so  much  affected  by  it,  and 
the  other  dangers  through  which  we  had  passed,  that  she 
declared  she  could  not  bear  the  thought  of  remaining  even 
another  day  upon  the  island.  She  urged  me  to  embark  once 
more  in  our  little  boat,  and  set  sail  in  search  of  some  more 
14 


158  THE   NEW   AGE    OF   GOLD. 

civilized  country,  where  we  should  be  no  longer  exposed  to 
such  perpetual  alarms. 

I  told  her  that  this  would  be  only  exchanging  one  evil  for 
a  greater  ;  that  our  boat  was  not  large  enough  to  live  through 
even  a  moderate  gale ;  that  I  knew  not  which  way  to  steer, 
and  that  consequently  we  might  drift  about  for  weeks  till  a 
death  by  hunger  or  thirst  came  to  end  our  misery. 

But  could  I  not  build  a  larger  ? 

Possibly  I  might,  with  tools ;  but  without  them  it  would 
be  impossible. 

And  did  I  not  think  some  ship  would  come  and  take  us 
off? 

]STo,  I  did  not  know  of  any  ship  that  would  be  likely  to  visit 
our  island.  As  far  as  I  could  judge,  it  was  entirely  out  of 
the  way  of  trade ;  and,  even  if  a  vessel  should  happen  to  be 
driven  so  far  out  of  her  course,  there  was  little  probability  we 
should  ever  know  anything  about  it. 

"  Then,"  she  replied,  "  I  don't  see  but  we  must  live  here 
always." 

"  And  are  you  sorry  ?  "  I  returned.  "  Don't  you  like  to 
live  here  ?  " 

"  0  yes,  I  should  like  it  of  all  things,  if  we  had  a  few 
friends,  and  some  books,  and  a  house  to  live  in  ;  and  if  we 
had  any  way  to  get  some  clothes,  and  a  few  other  things ; 
and  if  it  was  not  for  those  dreadful  creatures  that  frighten  us 
so,  all  the  time ;  that  is  the  worst  part  of  it." 

"  I  know,"  said  I,  "  they  are  very  troublesome,  and  I 
thought  yesterday  that  nothing  could  ever  persuade  me  to 
stay  here  a  moment  longer  than  we  could  possibly  help  ;  and 
even  now,  if  we  had  a  boat  of  any  size,  I  should  be  in  favor 
of  starting  off  to-morrow,  for  your  sake ;  but,  as  it  is,  I  see 
not  the  slightest  chance  of  our  ever  leaving  the  island ;  and 


QUESTIONS   ABOUT   DEATH.  159 

the  sooner  we  make  up  our  minds  to  it,  the  better.  But  we 
must  be  more  careful  in  future,  and  when  we  go  to  sleep, 
choose  some  other  place  for  it  than  such  a  public  promenade 
as  we  chose  yesterday.  Even  if  you  were  at  home,  you  know, 
you  would  never  think  of  going  to  sleep  in  the  street,  or  even 
on  Boston  Common." 

"  I  know ;  but  suppose  anything  should  happen,  —  to  you, 
for  instance  ;  what  would  become  of  me  ?  " 

"  You  would  still  have  Hamlet  and  Brevity  Bill  to  take 
care  of  you." 

A  slight  movement  of  impatience  with  her  little  foot  was 
her  only  reply. 

"  But  you  need  not  be  afraid,"  I  added  ;  "  nothing  will  ever 
happen  to  me.  I  will  take  care  of  myself  for  your  sake." 

"But  —  when  you  — if  you  should  —  you  know  you  must 
—  die  —  some  time  or  other  ;  "  and  she  shuddered. 

We  both  shuddered. 

It  was  the  first  time  I  had  thought  of  such  a  thing.  And 
had  Death  then  really  a  place  on  that  happy  island  ? 

Was  his  ambition  so  grasping?  Could  he  not  leave  us 
that  little  spot  ?  Had  he  not  enough  to  satisfy  his  cravings 
on  the  great  continents  of  the  world  ? 

Could  he  have  tracked  us  to  that  distant  solitude  ?  Was 
there  then  no  way  of  throwing  him  off  the  scent  ? 

Had  we  left  all  other  care  behind  us,  and  brought  with  us 
the  greatest  care  of  all  ? 

But  how  could  he  have  found  us  out  ?  Our  island  was  not 
laid  down  on  any  of  the  maps.  Was  he  so  much  wiser  than 
all  the  geographers? 

Had  he  walked  before  us  under  those  arching  trees  ?  Had 
the  echo  of  his  rattling  skeleton  ever  sounded  through  those 
lofty  aisles  ? 


160 


THE    NEW   AOE    OF    GOLD. 


I  could  not,  I  would  not,  believe  it. 

That  was  no  place  for  graves,  —  the  long  grass  waving 
over  the  mouldering  stone,  — "The  shroud  and  pall,  the 
breathless  darkness,  and  the  narrow  house." 

Yet  it  was  too  true.  Two  deaths,  occurring  even  in  th# 
short  time  that  we  had  been  there,  proclaimed  too  loudly  the 
dreadful  fact.  Brutes  only,  but  would  he  long  be  satisfied 
without  human  prey?  What  other  victory  so  triumphant? 
What  morsel  on  all  the  island  so  tempting  as  my  dainty 
Alice  ? 

But  she  should  not  die.  I  would  not  let  her.  Or,  if  she 
must,  I  would  die  with  her.  Death  should  never  reach  her 
but  through  me. 

While  busy  with  these  sad  reflections,  I  had  drawn  Alice 
closer  to  my  side.  For  several  minutes  neither  of  us  could 
speak  a  word.  At  last  she  murmured  :  "  Which  of  us  do  you 
think  will  die  first  ?  " 

"  I  cannot  tell,"  I  answered ;  "  which  should  you  rather  it 
would  be  ?  " 

"  0,  I  hardly  know !  It  would  be  hard  for  either  of  us  to 
be  left  alone  in  this  dreadful  place ;  but  I  think  it  would  be' 
hardest  for  me." 

"  Why  so  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Because  you  are  a  man,  and  are  used  to  taking  care  of 
yourself,  and  I  am  only  a  little  girl ;  and  — and  I  don't  think 
you  love  me  as  well  as  I  love  you." 

"  Dear  child  !  I  love  you  better  than  you  can  ever  know  ; 
for  your  sake  I  could  even  wish  that  you  might  be  the  first 
to  die,  if  we  could  not  rather  both  die  in  one  day." 

Here  I  could  say  no  more.  I  fancied  the  last  moment  of 
my  dissolution  —  Alice  bending  over  my  lifeless  form the 


DEATH   AND   MARRIAGE.  161 

silence  of  her  despair,  echoed  only  by  the  silence  of  that  vast 
solitude. 

Must  she  dig  my  grave,  and  deck  my  body  for  the  tomb? 
One  solitary  mourner,  cut  off  from  all  human  sympathy  ;  only 
the  wondering  trees,  awe-struck,  motionless,  holding  their  very 
breath,  as  she  passed. 

And,  then,  to  die  alone,  after  years  of  stupefying  sorrow  — 
to  recognize  Death  afar  off —  to  see  his  slow  approach,  with  no 
place  to  flee  to,  no  eye  to  pity,  and  no  hand  to   save ;  no 
mother  or  sister  to  soothe  her  aching  head,  or  hold  the  cooling 
drink  to  her  fevered  lips  ! 

And,  after  death,  to  lie  there  unburied  —  a  prey  to  ob 
scene  birds  —  and  she  so  beautiful ! 

"  Dear  Alice!  "  I  murmured,  "  there  is  one  way,  and  only 
one,  to  avert  this  dreadful  fate." 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  she  replied.   "  Why  don't  you  tell  me?  " 

"  We  must  be  married,  dear  Alice  ;  and  then  there  will  be 
others  to  comfort  and  cherish  us  in  our  old  age.  We  will 
plant  a  colony  in  this  spot.  We  will  be  the  founders  of  a  new 
empire  ;  of  a  better,  happier  world.  Then,  when  we  die,  we 
can  die  in  peace,  and  leave  the  island  to  our  children." 

I  blushed  at  the  boldness  of  my  words.  Alice,  involuntarily, 
drew  further  off. 

"  You  forget,"  she  replied,  "  that  there  is  no  one  to  marry 
us." 

"True*,"  I  cried,  "  nor  was  there  any  one  to  marry  Adam 
and  Eve.  God  was  the  only  witness  to  their  espousals.  I 
am  sure  he  will  smile  upon  ours.  His  presence  is  enough  to 
solemnize  the  contract ;  if  that  is  wanting,  what  avails  a  mere 
form  of  words,  pronounced  by  a  sinful  man  ?  It  is  God  that 
joins  us  together  ;  the  rest  is  only  a  part  of  the  framework  of 
14* 


THE   NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

society,  essential,  perhaps,  to  the  stability  of  the  social  fabric, 
but  with  which  we  have  nothing  to  do.  We  are  no  longer 
governed  by  human  laws  ;  what  would  be  virtue  there,  here 
becomes  a  crime.  Even  at  home,  in  some  of  the  states,  it  is 
enough  for  a  man  and  woman  to  declare  their  intention  of 
iving  together  as  a  man  and  wife,  to  constitute  a  legal  mar 
riage." 

"  It  may  all  be  as  you  say,"  replied  Alice,  in  so  low  a  tone 
that  I  could  hardly  catch  the  words;  "but  I  beg  you  will  say 
no  more  on  the  subject.  You  do  not  know  how  it  distresses 
me.  I  dare  say  I  am  very  foolish,  but  I  cannot,  so  soon, 
forget  my  early  education.  Let  us  trust  the  event  to  God. 
He  will  find  means  to  save  us  from  what  we  so  much  dread, 
or  give  us  strength  to  bear  it.  He  has  never  failed  me  yet^ 
and  I  will  not  doubt  him  now." 

As  she  spoke,  she  turned  and  went  into  the  house.  I  could 
not  ^  immediately  follow,  owing  to  the  perturbation  of  my 
spirits.  For  several  hours  I  continued  pacing,  with  disor 
dered  steps,  back  and  forth  before  the  door,  revolving  in  my 
mind  all  the  circumstances  of  our  situation,  and  calling  upon 
God  in  broken  ejaculations  to  aid  and  strengthen  me. 

Yet,  the  more  I  thought  of  the  subject,  the  more  firmly  I 
was  convinced  that  I  was  right.  It  seemed  strange  that  Alice 
should  not  view  it  in  the  same  light. 

"  But  no  matter,"  I  said  to  myself;  «  she  is  worth  waiting 
for.  Jacob  served  for  Rebecca  seven  years ;  and  I  am  sure 
that  she  could  not  have  been  in  any  respect  comparable  to  my 
Alice.  I  will  show  her  that  I  am  indeed  worthy  of  her  love. 
Child  of  impulse  and  passion  as  I  am,  I  feel  myself  capable 
of  this  heroic  self-denial.  If  I  could  stain  her  purity  even  by 
a  thought,  my  whole  life  could  not  make  atonement.  And, 
as  she  says,  she  is  really  too  young  to  marry.  A  year  or  two 


RESULT   OF   MY   COGITATIONS.  163 

cannot  make  much  difference.  She  is  as  much  mine  now  as 
she  can  ever  be.  She  has  given  me  already  far  more  than  I 
had  any  right  to  ask.  Yes !  yes !  I  will  leave  the  event  to 
God  —  for  a  while,  at  least ;  but  I  must  not  think  of  it  any 
longer  now.  Good-night,  dear  Alice !  though  you  cannot 
hear  me,  yet  once  again  good-night !  " 


CHAPTER    XII. 

Visit  to  Brevity  Bill.  —  Hamlet's  Devotion  and  Sagacity. — The  Forest. 
—  Brevity  Bill's  Delight  on  seeing  Us. — I  begin  to  pity  Him.  — Mal 
ice  of  Fortune.  —  His  Letter.  —  Alice  intercedes  for  Him.  —  Our  Argu 
ment.  —  We  return  Home.  —  Sunday  Employments.  —  Our  Conversa 
tion. —  More  Thoughts  on  Death.  —  Alice's  Character  and  Mine. — 
"U'hat  is  Love?  —  Hamlet's  Melancholy.  —  My  Jealousy  on  hearing  his 
Praises  sung  by  Alice. 

THE  next  day  I  would  gladly  have  remained  at  home,  for  I 
was  very  tired ;  but,  instead  of  doing  so,  I  yielded  to  Alice's 
sense  of  duty,  and  went  with  her  once  more  to  visit  Brevity 
Bill. 

In  all  these  excursions,  except  when  the  path  was  wide 
enough  for  us  to  walk  abreast,  I  usually  went  first,  to  clear 
the  way  and  guard  against  danger ;  Alice  came  next,  and  Ham 
let,  with  his  senses  all  on  the  alert,  brought  up  the  rear.  I 
had,  by  this  time,  the  most  unbounded  faith  in  his  guardian 
ship,  for  he  had  given  so  many  proofs  of  his  devotion,  that  I 
had  no  doubt  of  his  perfect  readiness  to  die  in  defence  of  his 
young  mistress ;  and,  from  all  I  had  seen  thus  far,  there  seemed 
little  reason  to  suppose  that  there  was  any  enemy  on  the  island 
for  whom  he  would  not,  single-handed,  prove  more  than  a 
match. 

But,  on  the  present  occasion,  I  chose  to  reverse  this  order, 
and  let  Hamlet  take  the  lead ;  for  I  was  always  the  worst 


ANOTHER    VISIT   TO    BREVITY   BILL.  165 

hand  in  the  world  at  finding  my  way,  and,  from  his  former 
habits,  I  felt  confident  that  he  would  conduct  us  by  a  much 
shorter  route. 

The  event  fully  justified  my  expectations.  The  path  (or 
strip  of  woods,  rather,  for  path  there  was  none),  that  lay 
between  the  plateau  and  the  shore,  was  one  that  never  failed 
to  exert  the  most  powerful  influence  on  my  imagination. 
Though  really  so  narrow,  it  possessed  all  the  attributes  of 
infinity.  I  always  felt,  as  soon  as  I  had  fairly  entered  it,  as 
if  I  were  in  the  heart  of  a  boundless  forest,  stretchino-  miles 

O 

and  miles  away  on  every  side.  The  trees  seemed  truly  conti 
nental  in  their  size  and  majesty.  I  wondered  how,  in  that 
little  island,  they  could  find  earth  deep  enough,  or  sufficient 
weight  beneath,  to  uphold  their  massive  trunks  with  all  their 
towering  wealth  of  branches.  When  we  came  out  upon  the 
shore  it  was  a  positive  relief  to  see  the  ponderous  masses  of 
solid  rock,  whose  deep  and  fast  foundations  at  once  assured  the 
mind  against  all  danger  of  such  strange  overthrow.  The  giant 
trees  seemed  now  no  more  than  the  light  plumes  nodding  from 
an  iron  helmet. 

Through  this  wild  and  trackless  forest  Hamlet  led  the  way 
without  a  sign  of  hesitation,  and  as  if  he  had  been  familiar 
with  it  from  his  earliest  days.  We  followed  with  equal  confi 
dence  ;  and,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  in  about  half  the  usual  time 
came  out  upon  the  lofty  cliff,  between  which  and  the  sea  poor 
Brevity  Bill  was  slowly  pacing  his  narrow  rounds. 

It  was  nearly  three  days  since  he  had  seen  me,  and  I  found 
him  anxiously  expecting  my  arrival.  Not  because  he  wanted 
food,  for  he  still  had  figs  enough  remaining  to  last  him  several 
days ;  but  he  longed  to  look  once  more  upon  a  human  face, 
and  hear  the  familiar  sound  of  a  human  voice ;  and  he  had 
besides  a  yet  stronger  reason,  which  I  was  far,  however,  from 


166  THE    NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 

suspecting  at  the  time,  and,  indeed,  could  hardly  believe  when 
he  told  me. 

Having,  as  before,  descended  the  cliff,  —  not  without  one  or 
two  narrow  escapes,  which  I  took  good  care  to  charge  to  his 
account,  —  I  sat  myself  down  in  the  most  comfortable  place  I 
could  find,  and  prepared  to  give  him  an  account  of  our  recent 
adventures ;  partly  because  I  thought  he  would  be  interested  in 
them,  and  partly  as  an  excuse  for  not  having  been  to  see  him 
before.  He  swallowed  every  word,  as  if  it  had  been  dipped 
in  honey ;  and  when  I  saw  how  happy  it  made  him,  my  heart 
reproached  me  for  my  past  unkindness,  and  I  almost  deter 
mined  that  very  day  to  set  about  his  release. 

But  fortune  was  against  him.  At  the  very  moment  when  I 
was  deliberating  how  to  accomplish  my  benevolent  purpose, 
and  just  as  I  had  got  sight  of  a  good  idea,  his  unlucky  fates, 
as  if  bent  on  keeping  him  always  in  that  miserable  condition, 
prompted  him  to  interrupt  my  meditations,  and  in  such  a  way 
that  no  effort  on  my  part  could  ever  after  bring  them  back  to 
their  original  channel. 

I  had  finished  my  story,  and  was  thinking,  as  I  have  said, 
in  what  way  I  could  best  assist  him,  when  he  suddenly  looked 
up,  and  asked,  in  a  very  humble,  almost  beseeching,  tone,  if  I 
would  be  so  good  as  to  carry  a  note  he  had  been  writing  to 
Miss  Cremorne. 

At  this  request,  I  felt  that  all  the  kindness  in  my  heart 
had  turned  at  once  to  gall !  What  business  had  he  to  be 
writing  letters  to  my  Alice  ?  If  he  liked  writing  letters  so 
well,  he  might  stay  where  he  was.  He  was  an  ill-bred,  im 
pertinent  fellow,  and  I  would  have  nothing  more  to  do  with 
him. 

However,  I  could  not  very  well  refuse  to  carry  his  letter  ; 
so  I  told  him  that  I  would  willingly  take  charge  of  it,  if  he 


BREVITY    BILL'S   LETTER.  167 

could  find  any  way  of  getting  it  up  to  me ;  though  I  did  not 
see  how  that  was  possible,  and,  indeed,  I  had  made  the  prom 
ise  far  more  cheerfully  for  that  very  reason.  But  the  fellow, 
it  seemed,  had  more  ingenuity  than  I  had  given  him  credit  for, 
for  he  had  no  sooner  heard  my  answer,  than  he  made  haste  to 
roll  his  letter  round  a  stone,  and,  after  several  ineffectual  casts, 
he  lodged  it  fairly  on  the  narrow  ledge  where  I  was  sitting. 

I  picked  it  up,  and  having  thrown  him  a  cocoanut  I  had 
brought  with  me,  and  which  he  came  very  near  losing  by  its 
bounding  into  the  sea,  —  for  I  was  in  no  very  good  humor  at  the 
time,  —  I  made  the  best  of  my  way  back  to  the  summit  of  the 
cliff;  where,  after  tenderly  embracing  Alice,  who  was  always 
as  glad  to  see  me  on  such  occasions  as  if  I  had  been  on  a 
voyage  to  the  North  Pole,  we  both  sat  down  to  peruse  this 
curious  epistle. 

It  was  written  on  a  smooth  bit  of  bark,  with  the  point  of  a 
knife,  or  something  of  the  sort,  in  a  very  cramped  and  illegi 
ble  hand,  so  that  we  had  as  much  as  we  could  do  to  make  it 
out ;  and  I  must  say  that,  in  my  opinion,  its  contents  hardly 
repaid  us  for  our  trouble. 

After  complaining  bitterly  of  the  loneliness  of  his  condition, 
and  the  dismal  fancies  it  gave  rise  to,  he  went  on  to  implore 
Alice,  with  all  the  eloquence  he  was  master  of,  not  to  suffer 
him  to  languish  there  any  longer,  but  to  give  me  no  rest  until 
I  had  effected  his  escape.  To  tell  the  truth,  the  letter,  with 
all  its  faults  of  spelling  and  grammar,  showed  at  least  as 
much  as  this — that  he  understood  thoroughly  the  heart  of 
woman,  and  knew  well  how  to  avail  himself  of  all  her 
weaknesses  as  well  as  virtues. 

"  I  really  think,"  said  Alice,  after  she  had  read  the  letter 
twice  over,  and  thought  a  while  upon  its  contents,  "  I  really 
think  you  ought  to  do  something  to  help  him.  out.  It  seems 


168 


THE   NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 


so  cruel  to  keep  him  there  in  that  way.     How  should  you  like 
it?" 

'  Ah  !  I  see,"  I  cried;  "  he  has  at  last  made  his  application 
in  the  right  quarter.  I  thought  all  that  delicate  flattery 
would  not  be  wholly  wasted.  But,  seriously,  my  dear  Alice, 
you  seem  to  me  to  be  laboring  under  a  strange  misapprehen 
sion.  It  was  not  through  my  agency  that  he  came  into  his 
present  position,  nor  is  it  any  fault  of  mine  that  he  has  not 
got  out  long  ago.  As  to  how  I  should  myself  like  it,  I  can 
not  see  that  that  has  any  pertinency  to  the  question.  I  am 
very  sure  of  one  thing,  however ;  and  that  is,  if  I  were  in  his 
place,  and  he  in  mine,  I  would  rather  stay  there  all  my  life 
long  than  owe  my  escape  to  his  assistance.  And,  in  fact,  I 
am  doubtful  whether  I  should  wish  to  escape,  in  any  case,  to 
be  forced  to  live  with  those  I  did  not  love,  and  be  forever 
tormented  by  sight  of  a  happiness  I  could  not  share.  But, 
even  supposing  that  this  were  not  the  case,  is  that  any  rea 
son  for  concluding  that  he  would  feel  the  same  ?  Different 
men  are  constituted  very  differently;  one  man's  meat  is 
another  man's  poison ;  what  one  likes  is  another's  aversion  ; 
one  prefers  solitude  ;  another  is  never  so  happy  as  in  a  crowd ; 
in  fact " 

"  But  he  ought  to  know  whether  he  likes  it  or  not,"  inter 
rupted  Alice  ;  "  and  he  says " 

"  Granted,  he  ought  to  know ;  but  how  few  there  are  that 
really  do  know  their  own  minds,  or  what,  after  all,  constitutes 
their  true  happiness  !  Who  is  there  that  is  not  continually 
wishing  to  change  his  condition,  and  envying  that  of  his 
neighbor  ?  Discontent  is  the  rule ;  why  should  he  be  an 
exception  ?  I  know  the  fellow ;  he  is  a  grumbler  of  old  ; 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  satisfying  him.  I  remember  his 
grumbling  once  on  board  the  ship,  because  the  captain's  pig 


ARGUMENTS   IN    THE   CASE    OF   BREVITY   BILL.  169 

ate  up  his  dinner ;  and  he  is  as  bad  now  as  he  was  then.  If 
we  yield  to  his  entreaties,  and  succeed  in  drawing  him  up,  it 
will  be  only  an  act  of  mistaken  kindness ;  he  will  not  be  a 
whit  better  satisfied,  but  will  wear  our  lives  out  with  his  con 
tinual  complaints.  He  will  be  all  the  time  thinking  of  pome 
way  to  leave  the  island ;  and  it  would  be  a  wonder,  indeed,  if 
he  did  not  infect  us  with  the  same  spirit.  In  short,  he  would 
very  soon  turn  our  little  paradise  into  a  hell ;  and  I  sometimes 
think  he  was  sent  here  for  that  very  purpose,  to  tempt  you  as 
Satan  tempted  Eve. 

"  Besides,  actions  speak  louder  than  words ;  and  you  heard 
yourself  how  merrily  he  was  singing  the  first  day  we  came. 
The  fact  is,  he  is  such  a  merry,  cheerful  fellow,  that  he  would 
be  contented  anywhere." 

"  Why,  how  can  that  be,"  said  Alice,  "  if  he  is  such  a 
grumbler  ?  " 

"  How  ?  Why —  why,  that  is  just  it.  He  loves  to  grum 
ble.  He  is  never  so  happy  as  when  he  has  something  to  find 
fault  with.  But  I  see  you  don't  know  him  as  well  as  I 
do." 

"  No,  I  see  not,"  replied  Alice,  smiling  in  such  a  way  that 
I  had  half  a  mind  to  be  angry  ;  "  but  tell  me,  dear  Kobert, 
won't  you  got  him  out  if  you  can?  If  not  for  his  sake,  at 
least  for  mine  ?  " 

"  0,  yes,  certainly  !  "  I  cried,  "  if  you  wish  it;  that  is,  if 
you  will  only  devise  some  way  of  doing  it;  for,  for  my  part, 
I  must  confess  I  see  no  possible  means  of  helping  him.  But, 
as  you  seem  so  much  interested  in  the  subject,  perhaps  you 
may  be  more  fortunate." 

I  had  no  sooner  said  this  than  I  was  sorry  for  it ;  but  my 
gentle-hearted  Alice  did  not  reproach  me  even  by  a  look. 
She  knew,  perhaps,  that  my  own  conscience  would  be  her 


170  THE   NEW   AGE   OF    GOLD. 

avenger.  She  turned  away  that  I  might  not  see  her  tears,  and 
having  wiped  them  with  her  dress,  she  replied,  as  calmly  as 
ever,  "  There  is*  the  rope  in  the  boat ;  you  might  use  that." 

"  It  is  not  long  enough  by  half." 

"The  skin  of  the  panther;  couldn't  you  cut  that  into 
strips?  " 

«  That  is  not  long  enough,  either." 

"  But  there  are  plenty  of  vines  that  would  reach  a  great 
deal  further." 

« I  should  be  afraid  to  trust  them,  they  are  so  brittle." 

"  You  might  sail  round  there  in  the  boat." 

"  But  how  could  I  get  near  enough,  through  those  tremen 
dous  rollers  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  may,  at  least,  answer  his  note." 

"  Certainly,  by  all  means ;  write  him  as  many  notes  as  you 
please  ;  only  don't  go  to  exciting  any  foolish  hopes  that  may 
never  be  realized.  Indeed,  I  think  you  had  better  say  noth 
ing  at  present  about  this  matter,  until  we  are  more  sure  of 
finding  some  way  to  effect  our  purpose." 

Alice  accordingly  sat  down  and  wrote  him  a  short  note,  in 
which  she  promised  to  come  and  see  him  as  often  as  she  could; 
told  him  not  to  be  discouraged,  and  invited  him  to  write  to 
her  whenever  he  felt  like  it. 

With  this,  and  plenty  of  bark  to  use  as  note-paper,  we  left 
him  once  more  to  his  own  resources. 

It  was  about  the  middle  of  the  forenoon  when  we  arrived 
at  home.  Being  Sunday,  according  to  our  reckoning,  we 
observed  it  strictly  as  a  day  of  rest.  Alice  sang  to  me  some 
of  the  old  familiar  tunes  we  had  both  been  used  to  hear  in 
childhood,  and,  in  return,  I  told  her  long  stories  about  my 
early  life,  of  which  she  never  seemed  to  grow  weary. 

And  we  talked  of  a  hundred  things  besides, —  of  our  friends 


MORE  THOUGHTS  ON  DEATH.  171 

at  home,  of  what  they  were  probably  doing,  and  of  the  sur 
prise  they  would  feel  if  they  could  only  see  where  we  were. 
"VVe  talked  of  our  first  meeting  —  of  the  extraordinary  acci 
dents  by  which  it  had  leen  brought  about,  and  of  the  impossi 
bility  of  our  ever  foreseeing  all  that  had  since  occurred.  It 
was  so  wonderful  that  we  should  both  happen  to  go  in  the  same 
ghip  —  that  we  should  ever  have  become  acquainted  —  that 
we  should  not  have  been  acquainted  before  — that  we  should 
not  have  known  each  other  always  —  that  we  should  have  been 
saved,  and  no  one  else. 

"  I  sometimes  think,"  cried  Alice,  "  that,  after  all,  it  is  only 
a  dream,  —  that  I  have  never  left  my  dear  old  home,  —  that 
I  have  never  known  any  such  person  as  you." 

"  So  do  I,"  I  replied  ;  "  and  I  have  to  try  hard  to  persuade 
myself  that  I  am  not  still  in  Boston,  or,  at  any  rate,  that 
Boston  is  not  just  behind  those  mountains ;  and  yet,  here  we 
are,  ten  thousand  miles  away,  in  the  very  midst  of  the  Pacific, 
among  palm-trees,  and  limes,  and  oranges,  in  those  sunny  trop 
ics  we  used  to  read  about  so  longingly.  How  strange  it  seems !  " 

And  very  strange  it  was,  too,  to  see  how  almost  every  sub 
ject  that  we  touched  upon  drew  our  thoughts  back,  by  some 
mysterious  sympathy,  to  the  same  question  that  had  occupied 
us  on  the  preceding  evening. 

Death  headed  us  off  at  every  turn. 

His  ugly  face,  with  hideous  leer,  grinned  at  us  from  every 
side. 

He  glared  upon  us  like  a  wild  beast  from  among  the  rus 
tling  leaves. 

The  bright-cheeked  flowers  grew  pale  before  his  breath. 

We  were  like  sheep  penned  in  a  fold ;  he  was  all  the  more 
certain  of  his  prgy,  because  there  was  no  room  for  us  to 
run. 


TIIE   NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 


We  were  like  two  kids  in  a  lion's  cage,  and  he  was  in  n, 
hurry  to  seize  us,  for  he  knew  we  were  his  at  any  moment 

it  was  not  death  that  I  feared.      It  was  beinc,  left 
lone;    or,  worse  yet,  the  thought  of  leaving  Alice    °But 
fter  what  had  passed  between  us,  I  would  say  no  more  at 
present  to  change  her  resolution.     I  would,  as  she  had  said 
leave  the  event  to  God. 

New  modes  of  life  would  bring  new  thoughts.     She  would 
time,  forget  the  world  we  had  left.      She  would  cease  to' 
fc  of  ever  returning  to  it.     She  would  feel,  as  I  did  al 
ready,  that  that  island  was  to  be  our  home. 

Her  character  was  not  at  all  like  mine.  *Shewas,in  almost 
Fthing,  my  superior.      And,  when  I  thought  of  this    I 
wondered  how  I  came  to  love  her ;  for  I  had  always  expecled 
L  love  with  a  woman  of  very  different  stamp.     What 
1  wanted,  or  thought  I  wanted,  was  a  pet,  a  plaything;    for 
i  tears  and  shame  I  confess  it,  my  nature  was  not  noble  ' 
her,  my  indolence  dragged  it  down.     In  the  presence 
my  superiors,  either  in  sense  or  in  goodness,  I  always  felt 
conscious  of  a  painful  effort. 

And  I  was  still  more  surprised  at  her  love  for  me.     She 
should  have  had  a  hero  for  her  lover,  -  a  man  of  lofty  prin 
ciple,  of  commanding  intellect,  of  great  human  sympathies  •  - 
I  was  not.     I  admired,  I  worshipped  those  qualities, 
but  made  no  approach  to  them.    I  was  quick,  versatile,  subtle  , 
,d  ingenious  but  not  profound.      My  education  by  a  pious 
Dther  had  induced  a  sort  of  moral  and  intellectual  elevation 
found  no  counterpart  in  my  real  character.     As  the 
ts  of  that  education  wore  away,  I  found  myself  selfish 
sensual,  and  grovelling. 

Yet,  under  the  ashes  lurked  a  spark  of  heavenly  fire      I 
loved  the  good  and  beautiful  with  all  my  heart  and  soul- 


LOVE. MELANCHOLY.  173 

passionately,  hopelessly  loved  it;  longed  for  it,  and  then  went 
away,  and,  because  I  had  it  not,  despaired  of  ever  having  it, 
ignobly  surrendered  myself  to  the  dominion  of  lust  and  folly. 
But  my  sensibilities  were  exquisite,  and  threw  a  veil  over  my 
faults. 

And  Alice  loved  me.  I  could  not  have  been  so  bad  as  I 
seemed.  That  she  did  so  was  indeed  a  mystery ;  but  love 
goes  not  by  rules  or  calculations. 

Love  is  love,  and  that  is  all  that  can  be  said  about  it. 

"  "What  do  you  suppose  your  mother  is  doing  now  ?  "  said 
Alice,  after  we  had  been  sitting  several  minutes  without 
speaking. 

"Let  me  see,"  I  replied;  "it  is  about  eleven  in  the  morn 
ing  here,  —  it  must  be  nearly  the  same  time  of  night  in  Bos 
ton.  She  is  probably  about  going  to  bed.  I  should  not  won 
der  if  she  was  praying  for  me." 

"  For  me,  too  ?  "  said  Alice. 

"  Dear  child  !  "-  -  I  called  her  child,  partly  because  she  was 
so  young,  and  partly  to  lessen  that  sense  of  inferiority  just 
referred  to  — "  Dear  child  !  I  hope  so,  though  she  never  saw 
you  ;  but  if  she  prays  for  me  she  must  pray  for  you,  for  our 
happiness  is  one.  But  how  I  wish  you  knew  her !  " 

"Don't  you  think  I  shall,  some  time?  " 

"  Never ;  no,  never  in  this  world ;  you  may  in  heaven." 

"  You  think,  then,  we  shall  live  always  here  ?  " 

"Yes,  always." 

"Ah,  yes,"  said  Alice,  musingly,  "if  it  were  always;  but 
there  is  no  always  in  time ; "  and  she  looked  at  me,  her  eyes 
swimming  in  tears.  "  How  strangely  I  feel,  to-day  !  I  feel 
so  happy,  yet  so  sad  !  Do  you  love  to  be  melancholy  ?  " 

"  0,  yes ;  there  is  no  happiness  like  that ;  but  it  is  ener- 
15* 


THE  NEW  AGE   OF   GOLD. 

vating;   it  unfits  one  for  life.      It  fa  like  plaintive  music 
bive  me  martial  airs." 

«  Enervating  ?  »  repeated  Alice.    "  It  may  be  to  the  weak 
but  it  is  strength  to  the  strong.     I  am  not  afraid  to  be  mel- 

ancholj." 

"  Nor  Hamlet,  either.    I  believe  he  is  the  most  melancholy 
creature  living.     I  wonder  if  he  was  ever  crossed  in  love  ?   I 
knew  his  early  history.     Where  did  your  grandfather 
get  him  ?  " 

"  He  bought  him,  in  New  York,  of  a  man  who  brought  him 

:rom  St.  Louis.     This  man  bought  him  of  another,  and  could 

11  us  nothing  of  his  parentage.     To  judge  from  his  air,  how- 

ever,  he  must  have  been  of  very  distinguished  birth       But 

there  are  none  of  Rosalind's  signs  about  him,  so  I  don't  think 

he  can  be  in  love.     Ah  !  what  a  lover  he  would  be  !  » 

This  speech  made  me  secretly  uneasy.     If  Hamlet  had  been 

an,  he  would  have  been  just  the  lover  for  Alice.    But  was 

Bible  that  she  had  discovered  it?    for  I  had  kept  my 

ion  of  him  entirely  to  myself.    I  bit  my  lips  and  made  no 

answer. 

Alice  went  on,  half-laughing,   half  in   earnest:     "High- 
ed,  generous,  romantic,  and  sensible,  withal;  full  Of  pas. 
•on  and  poetry,  yet  with  such  astonishing  self-control  5  one 
I  first  fear,  then  esteem,  then  love  him.     And  that  air  of 
elancholy,  how  it  becomes  him !     I  declare,  I  think  he  would 
be  quite  fascinating  !  " 
At  that  moment  I  fairly  hated  the  bear. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

Days  of  the  Week.  —  What  had  we  to  do  with  them  ?  —  Preparations  for 
a  Voyage  up  the  River. —  I  determine  towage  War  against  the  Alliga 
tor. —  His  insulting  Behavior. — The  Battle. — Its  mortifying  Result. 
Hamlet's  Indignation.  — I  am  compelled  to  postpone  my  Vengeance  to 
another  Time. 

THE  next  day  was  Monday.  I  sometimes  think  that  if  I 
were  to  live  that  life  over  again,  I  would  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  days  of  the  week,  nor  any  more  than  I  could  help 
with  the  seasons  and  years.  It  is  well  enough,  for  men  who 
live  in  cities,  to  measure,  thus  painfully,  the  flight  of  time ; 
to  know  how  much  of  life  is  gone,  and  how  much  still  remains 
to  them.  For  them,  each  day  has  its  work  to  do,  its  notes  to 
pay,  its  engagements  to  perform ;  and  he  who  fails  to  keep 
a  strict  account  is  sure  to  become  bankrupt  at  the  last. 
But,  in  the  measureless  wealth  of  days  at  my  command,  what 
need  had  I  to  practise  that  wretched  parsimony  ?  Life  to 
me  was  a  Fortunatus'  purse,  so  that,  spend  as  freely  as  I 
pleased,  I  had  still  enough  and  to  spare.  When  I  wanted  a 
day  for  any  purpose,  all  I  had  to  do  was  to  put  in  my  hand 
and  take  it  out,  without  stopping  to  ask  whether  I  could  afford 
it,  or  looking  to  see  how  many  remained  behind. 

What  mattered  it  then,  to  me,  whether  it  were  Sunday,  or 
Monday,  or  Tuesday,  or  any  other  day  ?  I  never  could  be 


THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

behind-hand  with  my  time.  The  blossoming  flower,,  the 
ripening  fruits,  were  sure  to  give  me  sufficient  warnin«r  I 
asked  no  nicer  timepiece,  no  more  exact  division,  than  nature 
furnished. 

And  even  that  I  would  not  consult  too  carefully.      Why 

should  I  care  to  know  whether  T  were  thirty  years  old  or  forty  • 

since,  thirty  or  forty,  the   current  of  my  life  was  still  the 

same?     Suns  might  rise  and  set,  the  seasons  might  roll   and 

one  year  succeed  to  another,  without  my  thought  or  knowl- 

dge,  and  yet  none  could  accuse  me  of    neglect.     I  never 

said  to  myself,  at  such  or  such,  a  time,  I  must  have  accumu- 

1  so  much  money,  or  have  mastered  a  certain  science,  or 

iave  attained  a  certain  position ;    I  only  said,  « I  will  love 

and  fear  God  to-day,  and  to-morrow,  and  all  the  days  of  my 

ife,  and  be  kind  to  Alice,  and  be  happy  with  her;  and  more 

than  that  I  need  not  know  nor  care."      Ah !  if  I  had  onlvr 

kept  to  this ! 

Yet  it  was  pleasant,  too,  when  thinking  of  our  friends  at 
home,  to  say,  «  To-day  is  Sunday;  the  bells  are  ringin^  the 
people  are  going  to  church  ;  "  or,  «  This  is  Monday  morning  ; 
shops  are  open,  the  streets  full  of  life  and  mirth;  »  and 
then,  to  listen  for  a  moment,  as  if  the  hollow  murmur  of  the 
chimes,  or  the  hum  of  the  great  city,  were  really  in  our  ears 
The  next  day  was  Sunday.     I  was,  by  this  time,  tired  of 
wandering,  and  would  have  been  glad,  besides,  of  an  opportu 
nity  of  making   some    improvements   about   my  house  and 
grounds;  but  we  had  eaten  the  last  of  our  cocoanuts  the  day 
before,  and  the  first  thing  to  be  done,  therefore,  was  to  go  in 
search  of  a  fresh  supply. 

Instead,  however,  of  making  the  journey  by  land,  and  thus 
travelling  over  again  the  same  ground  which  we  had  already 
found  so  toilsome,  I  determined,  this  time,  to  go  by  water 


PREPARATIONS    FOR    AN    EXCURSION.  177 

In  this  way  we  should  not  only  travel  with  fur  greater  ease 
and  safety,  but  should  be^  able,  also,  to  bring  home  a  whole 
cargo  of  cocoanuts  and  oranges,  enough  to  last  us  for  several 
weeks. 

This  idea  was  very  delightful  to  me, —  for  I  was  always  fond 
of  being  on  the  water,  and  of  a  little  indolence,  withal, —  and 
hardly  loss  so  to  Alice ;  and  we  accordingly  set  about  mak 
ing  our  preparations  with  great  alacrity.  I  first  spent  some 
time  in  fitting  up  a  shade  or  awning  in  the  centre  of  the  boat, 
to  guard  against  the  fierce  rays  of  the  sun,  and  the  still  more 
unwholesome  dews.  As  we  had  no  longer  any  other  use  for 
our  sail,  I  did  not  hesitate  to  appropriate  it  to  this  purpose. 
Four  slender  bows,  arching  overhead,  with  their  ends  thrust 
forcibly  between  the  sides  of  the  boat,  furnished  the  frame ; 
while  one  or  two  huge  leaves,  I  do  not  know  what  to  call 
them,  but  they  were  at  least  six  feet  long,  laid  on  top  of  the 
awning,  made  it  look  somewhat  like  a  floating  arbor. 

I  then  laid  in  a  good  store  of  figs,  with  a  few  shell-fish 
resembling  the  oyster,  only  much  smaller,  and  which  I  found 
growing  in  great  abundance  on  the  rocks  round  the  edge  of 
the  lake,  especially  in  that  part  nearest  the  sea.  Besides 
these,  I  threw  into  the  boat  a  handful  or  two  of  roots,  which 
Hamlet  had  first  discovered,  and  which  we  now  began  to  find 
quite  palatable.  With  all  these,  I  suppose  I  must  have  had 
provisions  enough  to  last  a  week,  though  I  did  not  expect  to 
be  gone  more  than  a  day ;  but,  as  we  never  knew  what  would 
happen,  I  always  took  care  to  be  provided  for  any  emergency. 

We  were  now  all  ready  for  the  voyage  ;  but,  as  these  va 
rious  preparations  had  taken  up  the  whole  of  one  day  and 
part  of  another,  for  I  did  not  work  very  hard,  I  thought  it 
best  to  wait  till  the  next  morning. 

In  the  mean  time,  in  order  not  to  be  idle,  I  determined  to 


178  THE    NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD. 

commence  operations  against  the  audacious  crocodile,  who  had 
been  so  foolhardy  as  to  attack  me  in  my  own  dominions,  and, 
as  it  were,  at  the  very  door  of  my  palace.  To  this  I  was 
incited  by  several  motives.  I  had  a  grudge  against  him,  in 
the  first  place,  for  having  dared  to  provoke  hostilities.  In 
the  second  place,  I  was  very  fond  of  swimming,  and  desirous 
of  teaching  Alice ;  but  as  long  as  we  had  him  to  fear,  it  was, 
of  course,  impossible  to  indulge  in  this  luxury.  And,  even  if 
I  had  not  cared  for  this,  I  would  not  have  had  him  in  my 
lake.  His  presence  there  was  a  perpetual  insult.  I  could 
not  walk  along  the  shore  without  being  tormented  by  the 
sight  of  his  ugly  face.  He  remained  lying  most  of  the  time 
in  one  particular  spot,  not  far  from  the  beach,  as  if  defying 
me  to  enter ;  and  the  air  of  mockery  and  derision  he  con 
stantly  assumed,  whenever  we  chanced  to  meet,  was  alto 
gether  too  much  for  my  philosophy.  He  had  evidently  formed 
a  very  inadequate  notion  of  my  character,  and  I  was  deter 
mined  to  show  him  how  greatly  he  was  mistaken. 

For  this  purpose,  I  provided  myself  with  a  straight  stick 
some  eighteen  inches  long,  about  four  inches  thick  in  the  mid 
dle,  and  very  sharp  at  both  ends.  I  next  cut  from  the  skin 
of  the  panther,  a  strip  three  inches  wide,  and  about  twenty 
feet  in  length,  made  one  end  fast  to  the  middle  of  the  stick  and 
the  other  to  the  hind  leg  of  the  bear,  and  then,  my  prepara 
tions  being  complete,  I  boldly  entered  the  water  and  advanced 
towards  my  formidable  antagonist,  who  had  been  all  this  time 
watching  my  movements,  but  without  evincing  the  slightest 
curiosity. 

No  declaration  of  war  was  needed,  but,  as  if  he  had  at  once 
divined  my  purpose,  without  stopping  to  send  a  herald,  or 
even  to  sound  a  trumpet,  he  rushed  to  the  encounter. 

It  was  very  evident  that  he  intended  to  seize  me  round  the 


BATTLE  WITH  THE  ALLIGATOR.  170 

middle,  but  I  had  my  own  reasons  for  declining  that  arrange 
ment,  and,  accordingly,  offered  him  my  arm  instead,  with  the 
simple  addition  of  the  'stick  just  described,  held  firmly  and 
perpendicularly  in  my  clenched  hand. 

However,  he  was  in  too  much  of  a  hurry  to  perceive  the 
difference  ;  his  rusty  jaws  closed  on  the  dainty  morsel  like  a 
Brobdignagian  jackknife,  and  I  heard  the  sharp  points  go 
crunching  through  the  bone. 

Hurrying  back  to  the  shore,  I  seized  the  rope  and  called 
to  the  bear  to  pull.  He  needed  no  urging,  but  was  already 
doing  his  very  best. 

But  -he  was  laboring  under  a  fearful  disadvantage.  The 
loose  sand  afforded  him  no  sure  foothold,  and,  as  I  had  fool 
ishly  tied  the  lasso  round  his  hind  leg,  he  had  only  three  left 
to  walk  on.  And,  even  if  it  had  been  otherwise,  I  doubt 
whether  it  would  have  made  the  slightest  difference. 

For  the  crocodile  was  walking  him  off  with  an  ease  that 
seemed  perfectly  ridiculous.  He  had  already  pulled  him  into 
the  lake,  and  the  next  moment  would  have  carried  him  off 
beyond  redemption,  if  I  had  not  cut  the  lasso  just  in  time  to 
prevent  the  fatal  catastrophe. 

Even  then  the  result  was  sufficiently  mortifying.  Our 
discomfiture  could  hardly  have  been  more  complete  and 
ignominious;  and,  for  several  minutes,  Hamlet  and  I  stood 
looking  at  each  other  with  an  expression  so  completely  crest 
fallen,  that,  if  the  crocodile  had  been  there  to  see,  he  would 
certainly  have  supposed  himself  the  victor. 

"  Well,"  cried  I,  at  last,  forcing  a  laugh  to  hide  my  confu 
sion,  "  he  has  escaped  us  this  time,  but  we  have  given  him 
something  to  spoil  his  appetite,  at  all  events." 

Hamlet  did  not  laugh.  He  evidently  considered  it  no 
laughing  matter.  I  never  thought  he  had  much  fondness  for 


180  THE   NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 

the  water,  and  his  present  behavior  only  confirmed  that  opin 
ion.  Not  that  he  manifested  the  slightest  fear,  but  the  coun 
tenance  of  stern  displeasure  with  which  he  regarded  me, 
showed  that  he  was  not  at  all  gratified  by  his  involuntary 
immersion. 

And  the  worst  of  it  was,  that  I  had  to  bear  all  the  blame. 
Though  it  was  quite  as  much  his  fault  as  mine,  and  I  thought 
a  little  more,  he  would  not  allow  any  such  thing.  He  said 
nothing,  to  be  sure ;  but  I  could  see,  by  his  looks,  that  he 
thought  I  had  been  guilty  of  a  very  foolish  action,  and  that, 
if  it  had  not  been  for  me,  he  should  never  have  been  betrayed 
into  such  an  absurdity. 

He  regarded  me  steadily  for  several  moments,  then,  coolly 
shaking  the  water  from  his  shaggy  coat  into  my  eyes,  he 
walked  deliberately  up  the  hill,  without  deigning  to  honor  me 
with  any  further  notice. 

He  was  very  cool  towards  me  for  some  days  after  this 
affair,  and  it  was  a  long  time  before  I  fully  recovered  his 
good  opinion. 

However,  I  had  given  the  crocodile  something  to  think  of, 
and,  as  from  his  secluded  mode  of  life,  he  must  doubtless  be 
often  at  a  loss  for  subjects  of  meditation,  this  advantage  was 
considerable.  I  am  inclined,  though,  to  believe  he  must  be  a 
very  slow  thinker,  for  it  was  several  months  before  he  again 
made  his  appearance  ;  and,  even  then,  as  far  as  I  could  see,  he 
looked  quite  as  heavy  and  stupid  as  ever ;  so  that,  finding  my 
first  lesson  so  ineffectual,  I  determined,  at  some  future  time, 
to  give  him  another. 

An  account  of  this  will  be  found  in  its  proper  place. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

We  commence  our  Voyage.  — Going  on  Board.  — River  Scenery.  — Its 
Beauty  and  Variety.  —  Volcanic  Rocks.  —  The  Rapids.  —  The  Great 
Bend. —The  Orange  Grove. —Making  a  Garland. —The  Almighty 
Dollar. —  What  it  could  buy. —  Night  in  the  Tropics.  —  Gathering 
Oranges.  —  Climbing  the  Palm.  —  Twilight  Hours. 

THE  next  morning,  as  soon  as  it  was  light,  we  went  aboard 
the  boat  and  commenced  our  voyage.  Alice  took  her  seat 
under  the  awning,  with  Hamlet  lying  at  her  feet,  where  she 
looked  so  serenely  happy,  and  so  gloriously  beautiful,  in  spite 
of  her  soiled  and  ragged  dress,  that  I  could  hardly  ktfep  my 
eyes  off  her,  even  for  a  moment. 

"  Is  it  possible,"  I  said,  again  and  again,  to  myself,  "  that 
this  lovely  creature  can  be  yours  ?  She  and  all  this  fairy 
island  ?  " 

And  I  looked  again,  till  I  felt  so  happy  that  the  tears  came 
into  my  eyes,  and  I  gazed,  smiling  through  those  crystal 
drops,  down  into  the  emerald  water. 

I  would  not  then  have  changed  my  empire  for  Alexander's 
or  Napoleon's,  nor  that  homely  little  boat  for  Cleopatra's  gilded 
barge. 

We  crossed  the  lake  and  entered  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
forcing  our  way  through  the  overhanging  branches  which  cov 
ered  the  narrow  outlet  with  so  impenetrable  a  screen  that,  but 
16 


182 


TUB    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 


for  our  previous  knowledge,  we  should  never  have  suspected, 
even  when  close  to  it,  that  such  an  outlet  existed. 

Having  passed  this  opening,  and  advanced  a  short  distance 
up  the  stream,  here  about  ten  feet  in  width,  our  eyes  were 
charmed  with  a  prospect  so  different  from  anything  we  had 
seen  before,  that  we  could  not  restrain  an  exclamation  of 
wonder  and  delight  at  its  rare  and  striking  beauty. 

The  trees,  arching  overhead,  shut  out  the  day.  The  still 
black  water  reflected  only  here  and  there  a  little  patch  of  sky. 
We  seemed  gliding  through  a  submerged  forest,  for  there  were 
here,  as  far  as  we  could  see,  no  banks  on  either  side,  but  the 
twisted  stems  of  the  mangroves  stood  far  out  into  the  stream. 
Aquatic  birds  of  every  form  sailed  slowly  over  the  glassy  sur 
face.  We  could  easily  tell  the  males  from  the  females  by  the 
frequency  with  which  they  stopped,  with  pardonable  vanity, 
to  observe  their  own  gaudy  plumage  reflected  in  this  unsullied 
mirror. 

Sitting  in  the  bows  of  the  boat,  I  urged  it  along  by  taking 
hold  of  the  branches.  The  leaves  brushed  lightly  against  the 
sides  of  the  awning,  or  sprinkled  their  dews  upon  our  faces. 
Little  inlets,  opening  to  the  right  and  left,  were  continually 
inviting  us  to  enter.  I  longed  to  explore  them  all,  for  I  felt 
sure  that  I  should  find  at  the  end  of  every  one  a  fairy  bower, 
and  perhaps  a  troop  of  elves  dancing  under  the  trees.  The 
river  turned  quite  as  often  as  its  mighty  namesake,  and  at 
every  turn  seemed  to  open  a  more  pleasing  vista. 

"  Well,  well !  "  I  cried  at  last,  unable  longer  to  contain  my 
enthusiasm,  "  if  there  is  a  way  to  heaven  by  water,  I  am  sure 
that  this  must  be  it." 

When  we  had  proceeded  in  this  manner  several  miles,  and 
began  to  think  that  we  should  like  something  a  little  different, 
the  river,  as  if  to  humor  our  wishes,  suddenly  left  the  woods 


VOLCANIC   ROCKS.  —  RAPIDS.  183 

and  turned  towards  the  more  open  country.  Its  character  at 
the  same  time  underwent  a  decided  change.  Its  current  be 
came  more  violent,  and  was  occasionally  broken  by  shallows  and 
rapids,  some  of  which  presented  such  formidable  obstacles  that 
I  had  just  as  much  as  I  could  do  to  force  the  boat  over  them. 

At  one  place,  where  the  stream  was  compressed  in  a  deep 
and  rocky  canon  to  half  its  usual  width,  it  whirled  along  with 
so  much  rapidity  that  it  required  all  my  strength  and  the 
bear's  united  to  force  the  passage.  The  rocks  here  presented 
a  very  singular  appearance.  Their  surface  was  half  vitri 
fied,  as  if  by  fire ;  and  the  huge  masses,  piled  one  above 
another,  seemed  threatening  to  fall  every  moment  into  the 
stream  below.  Here  we  were  all  obliged  to  leave  the  boat, 
and,  scrambling  along  the  rocks  the  best  way  we  could,  drew 
the  boat  after  us  by  main  force  till  we  came  again  into 
smoother  water. 

Notwithstanding  these  delays,  our  progress  was  much  more 
rapid  and  far  less  laborious  than  it  had  been  by  land.  We 
passed  the  gum-tree  early  in  the  morning,  and  came  to  the 
grove  of  palms  a  little  after  noon. 

Here  we  stopped  a  short  time  to  rest  and  obtain  a  few  of 
the  nuts ;  and  then,  returning  to  the  boat,  we  came,  after  pro 
ceeding  perhaps  half  a  mile  further,  to  our  fairy  bower. 

Between  these  two  points  the  river  made  a  great  bend  to 
the  left,  and,  instead  of  keeping  on  towards  the  south,  turned 
and  ran  towards  the  east.  This  circumstance  had  before  escaped 
my  notice,  and  it  was  chiefly  owing  to  our  own  ignorance  in 
regard  to  it,  that  we  had  been  betrayed  into  so  many  amusing 
blunders. 

We  here  moored  our  boat  to  the  root  of  a  tree,  and,  going 
on  shore,  we  hastened  to  the  orange  grove,  full  of  eagerness  to 
feast  once  more  on  the  cooling  fruit.  Then  returning  to  our 


184  THE   NEW  AGE   OF   GOLD. 

arbor  beneath  the  bamboos,  we  stretched  our  languid  limbs 
upon  the  crisp  grass,  all  over  enamelled  with  flowers,  and, 
lazily  sucking  the  delicious  honeyed  juice,  looked  with  half- 
shut,  dreaming  eyes  alternately  in  the  flashing  stream  at  our 
feet,  the  slow-sailing  clouds  in  heaven,  and  all  the  varied 
forms  of  leaf  and  flower  that  seemed  vying  with  each  other  to 
attract  our  notice. 

When  we  had  satisfied  our  thirst,  we  amused  ourselves,  as 
before,  sailing  our  little  boats  down  the  stream.  Only  we 
waited  till  we  had  collected  a  large  fleet,  and  then  sent  them 
all  off  together,  —  to  compare  great  things  with  small,  —  like 
those  richly-freighted  convoys  that  used  to  sail  so  often,  in 
the  palmy  days  of  her  prosperity,  to  the  proud  shores  of 
Spain. 

Then  Alice  filled  her  lap  with  flowers,  and  sat  down  to 
wreathe  a  garland  for  her  hair.  Why  should  she  do  so,  when 
there  was  no  one  but  me  to  see  her  ?  I  cared  not  why,  so  it 
only  gave  her  pleasure.  I  hastened  to  gather  other  flowers, 
that  she  might  have  more  to  choose  from ;  and  I  collected  so 
many  that  she  was  almost  covered  with  their  abundance. 

But  still  she  was  the  prettiest  flower  of  them  all. 

"  There  !  "  she  cried,  when  the  task  was  completed,  and  the 
garland  arranged  to  her  satisfaction,  "  is  not  that  charming  ? 
Ah !  I  see  by  your  eyes  that  you  never  saw  anything  so  pretty 
in  your  life." 

"  I  was  not  looking  at  the  flowers,"  I  replied. 

"  Not  looking  at  the  flowers  ?  But  you  must  look  at  them ; 
I  arranged  them  on  purpose  for  that." 

"  But  would  n't  you  rather  I  should  look  at  you  ?  " 

"  For  some  things  I  should  n't.  /  made  this  garland,  but 
I  didn't  make  myself;  and  yet  I  like  to  have  you  look  at 
me,  too,  as  you  are  looking  now.  But  what  a  pity  that  I 


WHAT   A    DOLLAR    COULD   BUY.  185 

have  no  looking-glass !  Ah  !  you  are  laughing,  but  I  know 
what  you  are  thinking  of.  It  is  what  you  said  a  while  ago  in 
the  boat.  But  I  declare,  it 's  a  shame  that  I  have  not  a  better 
dress.  What  shall  I  do  when  this  is  quite  worn  out  ?  You 
will  have  to  buy  me  another.  You  need  n't  say  you  have  n't 
any  money,  for  I  know  you  have  plenty;  I  saw  you  playing 
with  it  a  while  ago." 

"Yes,  so  I  have;  a  whole  silver  dollar.  How  funny  it 
seems!  How  it  reminds  one  of  shops,  —  of  silks  and  satin." 

"  And  calicoes  and  ginghams,  and  tape  arid  ribbon." 

"  And  books  and  newspapers." 

"And  gloves  and  handkerchiefs." 

"  And  flour,  and  meat,  and  potatoes.  It  carries  me  right 
back  to  Boston.  What  a  mighty  dollar!  I  would  not  lose 
it  for  the  world  !  But,  if  we  could  spend  it,  what  would  you 
rather  buy  ?  " 

"  Ah  !  there  are  so  many  things,  I  hardly  know.  Let  me 
see,  a  dollar  would  buy  a  pair  of  shoes,  or  ten  yards  of  calico, 
or  a  straw  bonnet,  or  a  new  shirt  for  you,  or  a  little  hatchet, 
or  a  gun  and  powder,  or  some  nice  baskets;  —  I  know  whore 
I  could  find  just  what  we  want;  —  or  a  frying-pan  and  tea 
kettle,  or  knives  and  forks,  or  some  plates,  and  cups  and  sau 
cers.  Dear  me  !  there  are  so  many  things,  I  should  never  be 
able  to  make  up  my  mind  in  the  world.  But  what  would  you 
choose  ?  " 

"  I  would  have  your  daguerreotype  if  I  could  get  it ;  if 
not,  I  should  choose  a  Bible;  and,  if  I  couldn't  have  that, 
,1  would  take  an  iron  kettle,  or  else  a  shovel,  or  a  new  axe 
or  knife,  I  am  sure  I  don't  know  which.  Who  would  have 
thought  there  were  so  many  things  that  could  be  bought  for 
a  dollar?  And  we  haven't  named  the  hundredth  part  of 
them." 

16* 


186  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

"  No,  indeed,"  said  Alice  ;  "but,  after  all,  I  don't  see  but 
that  we  are  quite  as  happy  without  them." 

"  As  happy,  perhaps,  but  not  quite  ;;s  comfortable.  I  don't 
like  to  see  you  dressed  so  badly." 

"  But  you  would  n't  have  me  wear  a  daguerreotype,  or  iron 
kettle,"  said  Alice,  laughing;  "  or  any  of  the  things  you  men 
tioned?" 

"  No,  I  don't  think  I  should.  So  we  may  as  well  keep  the 
dollar  a  little  longer.  I  dare  say  we  shall  want  it  more  some 
other  time.  It  will  poon  be  the  only  relic  of  civilization  that 
is  left  to  us ;  and  it  will  be  pleasant  to  take  it  out  and  look  at 
it  occasionally,  to  remind  us  that  there  really  are  such  things 
in  the  world  as  we  have  been  talking  about.  For  my  part,  I 
begin  to  doubt  it  already,  or  whether  there  is  any  other  world 
than  our  little  island.  In  ten  years  I  dare  say  we  shall  won 
der  what  the  dollar  was  made  for." 

So  we  sat,  and  talked,  and  dreamed  away  the  happy  hours. 
Too  fast  the  envious  sun  slid  down  into  the  west.  A  softer 
glory  came  over  the  face  of  nature.  Her  burning  blushes 
were  cooled  by  the  evening  breeze.  The  little  shadows  began 
to  peep  out  of  their  hiding-places,  as  if  to  see  whether  their 
time  had  come.  The  delicate  tracery  of  the  bamboos,  and  the 
sharp  outlines  of  the  trees  on  the  opposite  bank,  grew  indis 
tinct  even  while  their  slender  tops  were  yet  gilded  by  the 
setting  sun.  As  other  sounds  grew  fainter,  the  waking  ocean 
lifted  up  its  voice.  The  island  slept,  rocking  gently  on  the 
bosom  of  the  Pacific. 

Hand  clasped  in  hand,  Alice  and  I  slept  also  peacefully  all 
the  night. 

Early  the  next  morning,  before  the  sun  was  up,  we  rose  and 
left  our  bower,  and,  having  made  our  toilet  at  the  edge  of  the 
stream,  we  set  about  our  pleasant  task  of  picking  oranges  and 


GATHERING   ORANGES.  187 

carrying  them  on  board  the  ship.  We  used  for  this  purpose 
the  bag  which  had  formerly  contained  our  biscuit,  and  a  large 
square  bit  of  canvas  that  I  had  saved  out  of  the  sail  when  I 
made  the  awning. 

There  were  a  great  many  orange-trees  in  that  neighbor 
hood,  but  the  fruit  was  not  all  alike.  Some  was  as  sweet 
almost  as  honey,  and  some  was  very  sour.  We  took  care  to 
select  a  proper  proportion  of  each,  which  in  my  case  was  one 
sour  orange  to  a  hundred  sweet  ones.  But  as  to  the  sour 
oranges,  I  believe  Alice  ate  them  every  one. 

When  we  had  collected  as  many  as  we  wanted,  which  was 
about  five  hundred,  we  called  to  Hamlet;  and  then,  going  on 
board,  we  dropped  quietly  down  the  stream,  feasting  our  eyes 
on  the  changing  scenery,  and  on  our  golden  fruitage,  till  we 
came  opposite  the  grove  of  palms,  where  we  proposed  to  take 
in  the  rest  of  our  cargo. 

I  now  cut  from  the  boat's  painter  a  piece  about  six  feet 
long,  and  having  tied  it  loosely  round  my  waist  and  the  trunk 
of  the  palm  I  wished  to  ascend,  so  as  partially  to  support  my 
weight,  I  found  that  I  could  work  my  way  up  with  much 
greater  ease  than  before.  In  this  way  I  ascended  one  tree 
after  another,  while  Alice,  remaining  below,  picked  up  the  nuts 
as  fast  as  I  threw  them  down,  and  piled  them  up  together. 
After  working  several  hours  I  began  to  feel  tired ;  and,  as  by 
this  time  it  was  nearly  noon,  we  concluded  to  stop  and  eat 
our  dinner.  First,  however,  we  counted  the  nuts,  and  found 
that  we  had  nearly  a  hundred.  Alice  had  never  seen  so  many 
in  her  life,  and  seemed  almost  beside  herself  at  sight  of  such 
prodigious  wealth ;  but  I,  to  whom  cocoanuts  were  an  old 
story,  was  able  to  survey  the  heap  with  entire  equanimity. 

We  remained  here  all  the  afternoon,  reposing  under  the 
shade  of  a  spreading  tamarind,  whose  delicate  foliage  and 


THE   NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 


numerous  clusters  of  long  green  pods  depending  from  the 
branches,  gave  it  a  very  striking  beauty.  It  seemed,  too, 
something  like  an  old  acquaintance,  for  I  had  often  eaten  the 
fruit  at  home,  and  planted  the  stones,  from  which  I  had  some- 
times  obtained  plants  of  a  considerable  size.  The  pods  hud  a 
very  agreeable  acid  flavor,  and  we  gathered  a  small  quantity 
to  carry  home  with  us. 

The  sun  was  already  setting  when  we  went  aboard  the 
boat,  and  commenced  our  homeward  voyage.  But  we  knew 
that  we  could  not  lose  our  way,  and  we  were  desirous  of  see 
ing  in  the  shadowy  twilight  that  enchanted  scenery  that  had 
delighted  us  so  much  by  day.  The  water  seemed  deeper  and 
blacker  than  ever;  the  dim  religious  light  that  stole  through 
the  natural  fret-work  of  the  branches  had  thickened  into&a 
murkier  gloom  ;  bats  and  night-hawks  went  sailing  over  our 
heads  shaking  the  darkness  from  their  dusky  wings. 

^  Presently  Alice  began  to  sing  the  Evening  Song  to  the  Vir 
gin.  I  had  often  heard  it  before,  but  never  had  it  thrilled 
my  soul  as  now.  The  soft,  plaintive  notes  assumed  a  state 
lier,  more  solemn  air,  as  they  floated  through  those  lon?- 
drawn  watery  aisles.  The  boat  seemed  to  catch  the  inspira 
tion,  and  glided  onward,  now  fast,  now  slow,  as  the  waves  of 
melody  rose  and  fell.  So  softly  singing;  so  softly  floating,— 
'  Ah,"  then  I  murmured,  "why  need  it  ever  end  ?  Why  not 
glide  on  forever,  in  sweet  oblivion,  in  one  eternal  strain  of 
harmony?  " 

But  soon  the  dream  was  over.  The  song  was  ended,  and, 
as  the  last  notes  died  away,  the  boat  shot  out  into  the  lake. 
We  ascended  the  hill  together,  and,  weary  with  the  day's 
labor,  soon  after  supper  retired  to  rest. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

Sunday  Morning.  —  Brevity  Bill.  —  New  Amusement.  —  Singing-Turtle. 

—  A  Lesson  in  Dancing.  —  A  good  Preacher.  —  Brevity  Bill's  Letter. 

—  My  Suspicions  as  to  its  Contents.  —  Contradictory  Peelings  it  ex 
cited. —  Alice  sends  an    Answer. — An   amusing  Spectacle. — Brevity 
Bill's  astonishing  Self-control.  —  His   sudden  and   overwhelming  De 
jection. —  Return  Ilome. 

WE  remained  at  home  all  the  rest  of  the  week,  employing 
our  time  in  a  variety  of  ways ;  but,  when  Sunday  came  round, 
I  bethought  me  that  it  would  be  as  well  to  pay  another  visit 
to  Brevity  Bill,  and  see  how  he  was  prospering. 

For  some  reason  or  other  we  did  not  wake  this  Sunday 
morning,  or  indeed  any  other,  till  an  hour  or  so  later  than 
usual.  This  surprised  me  very  much ;  for,  though  I  knew  the 
rule  to  be  of  universal  application  in  all  Christian  countries, 
I  hardly  expected  to  find  it  at  work  so  soon  in  that  barbarous 
island. 

But  nature,  it  seems,  is  everywhere  the  same  ;  and  during 
the  many  thousand  years  that  that  island  had  remained  with 
out  an  inhabitant,  she  had  probably  never  failed  one  day  in 
seven  to  dash  the  lively  morning  air  with  a  due  portion  of 
some  more  soporific  quality ;  so  that,  when  we  came,  we  had 
no  need  to  make  that  violent  change  in  our  habits  that  would 
otherwise  have  been  required. 


190 


THE   NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 


The  sun,  accordingly,  was  several  hours  high  when  we  set 
out  on  our  journey.  We  carried  with  us  some  oranges  and 
tamarinds,  which  I  thought  might  be  agreeable  to  our  prisoner 
by  way  of  variety,  and  also  a  number  of  cocoanuts  ;  that, 
after  he  had  eaten  the  meat,  he  might  amuse  himself  by  fash' 
ioning  the  shells  into  cups.  I  determined,  furthermore,  to 
initiate  him  into  the  art  of  constructing  boats  of  orange-peel, 
as  I  knew  he  had  every  facility  for  sailing  them,  and°by  this 
innocent  amusement  he  might  beguile  many  a  weary  hour,  and 
thus  possibly  divert  his  thoughts  from  too  constantly  dwelling 
on  the  miseries  of  his  condition. 

I  found  him,  however,  already  better  provided  with  means 
of  amusement  than  any  that  I  could  offer.  He  had  caught  a 
young  turtle  on  the  shore,  and  was  now  busily  employed  in 
taming  it.  He  assured  me  that,  though  usually  considered 
so  sluggish  an  animal,  he  had  found  it  wonderfully  quick  and 
docile,  that  it  had  already  learned  to  eat  out  of  his  hands, 
and  that,  if  he  had  it  long  enough,  he  did  not  despair  of 
teaching  it  to  sing. 

"  I  don't  doubt,"  said  he,  «  in  the  least,  but  what  she  could 
sing  now  if  she  only  thought  so;  she  's  got  a  first-rate  voice, 
and  all  in  the  world  she  wants  is  a  little  practice." 

I  assured  him  that  I  thought  so  too,  and  that,  if  he  could 
only  once  get  her  to  sing  the  gamut,  I  was  perfectly  sure  that 
in  three  months  she  would  sing  like  a  nightingale. 

"  Perhaps  you  don't  know,"  I  added,  «  that  the  tortoise  has 
always  been  considered  a  very  musical  animal,  and  that  the 
first  fiddle  in  the  world  was  made  out  of  its  shell." 

"  You  don't  say,"  he  cried;  «  well,  I  a'n't  the  least  bit  sur 
prised  after  what  I  Ve  seen  ;  but  did  you  ever  hear  of  one's 
learning  to  play  on  the  fiddle  ?  " 


A    LESSON    IN   DANCING.  191 

"  1  don't  know  as  I  ever  did,"  I  replied,  "  but  I  have 
always  supposed  that  they  would  make  very  accomplished 
dancers." 

"  That 's  a  fact,  and  so  they  would,"  cried  Bill.  "  I  swow, 
I  mean  to  begin  and  teach  her  this  very  day ;  but  what  dance 
would  you  begin  with  ?  " 

"0,  the  jig,"  I  replied,  "by  all  means;  that  suits  her 
style,  I  think,  better  than  any  other,  and  after  she  has  learned 
that,  you  might  try  her  in  a  quadrille  or  contra-dance." 

"  I  don't  know  as  I  could  manage  any  of  those  outlandish 
foreign  dances,"  he  returned ;  "  can't  you  show  us  the  step  ?  " 

"  0,  yes,"  I  replied,  "  most  willingly ;  "  and  with  that  I 
made  as  good  an  exhibition,  both  of  the  step  and  figure,  as 
was  possible  on  a  ledge  not  more  than  three  feet  wide,  while 
Brevity  Bill,  fifty  feet  below,  followed  as  well  as  he  could,  till 
at  last  I  suddenly  bethought  me  that  it  was  Sunday,  and  that 
it  \\ould  be  as  well  to  defer  the  remainder  of  our  exercise  to 
a  more  fitting  occasion. 

"What's  the  matter?"  cried  Bill,  stopping  also,  but  still 
preserving  the  same  interesting  attitude  ;  "  a'n't  you  going  to 
finish  the  figger  ?  " 

"  Not  to-day  ;  it  is  Sunday." 

"  Sunday,  is  it?  you  don't  say;  and  do  you  have  Sunday 
up  there  ?  " 

"  To  be  sure  ;  why  not?  " 

"  Why,  I  did  n't  suppose  you  had  any  meeting-house." 

"  Well,  we  have  not  built  any  meeting-house  yet;  but,  while 
the  warm  weather  lasts,  it  is  pleasanter.  you  know,  to  hold  the 
services  in  the  open  air." 

"  And  who  have  you  got  for  preacher  ?  " 

"  O,  we  have  a  very  grave  and  reverend  gentleman,  whose 
name  is  Hamlet." 


THE   NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD. 

"  And  is  he  a  good  preacher  ?  " 

"  He  is  as  good  as  I  want,  —  solid,  sententious,  and  means 
all  he  says,  and  in  fact  a  great  deal  more." 

"  And  don't  you  want  somebody  to  do  the  singing?  I  can 
do  it  first-rate.  I  always  used  to  sit  in  the  singing-seats  'fore 
I  went  to  sea.  Me  and  Deacon  Chadborn's  daughter  used  to 
do  it  pretty  much  all ;  and  the  way  we  made  the  old  house 
ring  was  a  caution.  0  !  Sukey  Chadborn  was  a  great  girl,  I 
tell  you,  and  died  o'  the  small-pox ;  folks  used  to  say  she  was 
too  homely  to  die  of  anything  else.  This  Miss  Cremorne 
'minds  me  of  her  every  time  I  see  her." 

"  Reminds  you  of  her !  "  I  cried ;  "  what  do  you  mean  by 
that  ?  " 

"  0,  I  don't  mean  no  harm  !  She  'minds  me  of  her,  'cause 
she's  too  handsome  to  die  of  anything.  It's  my  private 
opinion  that  she  '11  be  transported,  like  Enoch,  and  the  other 
fellow — what's  his  name  —  Lijah,  wasn't  it?  But  say, 
don't  you  want  me  to  do  the  singing  ?  " 

"  Had  n't  you  better  wait,"  I  shouted,  in  reply  to  this 
strange  rhapsody,  "  till  your  turtle  is  able  to  sing  with  you  ? 
By  that  time  we  shall  probably  have  our  house  all  ready." 

"  0,  yes  !  "  cried  he,  with  a  melancholy  laugh,  "  and  then 
I  can  sing  the  bass,  and  she  can  sing  the  air ;  but  how  is  Miss 
Cremorne  ?  I  've  got  another  letter  for  her." 

With  this  he  drew  a  wide  strip  of  bark  from  one  of  his 
pockets,  and  having,  as  before,  rolled  it  round  a  stone,  he 
threw  it  up  to  me,  with  an  intimation  that  he  should  be  glad 
to  have  an  answer  as  soon  as  possible.  I  had  half  a  mind  at 
first  to  destroy  this  letter,  and  say  nothing  about  it  to  Alice ; 
but  I  could  not  quite  reconcile  this  breach  of  confidence  to 
my  sense  of  honor ;  nor  did  it  seem  right,  simply  out  of 


BREVITY    BILL.  193 

jealousy,  to  deprive  the  poor  fellow  of  this  innocent  gratifica 
tion. 

I  never  knew  exactly  what  was  in  that  letter.  To  be  sure, 
Alice  said  that  I  might  read  it  if  I  wished,  but  she  would 
rather  I  would  not ;  so,  partly  to  gratify  her,  and  partly  to 
save  myself  the  trouble,  I  resolutely  refrained  from  reading  a 
syllable.  I  had  a  shrewd  suspicion,  however,  from  her  pecu 
liar  manner,  that  its  contents  must  have  been  of  a  very  inter 
esting  character  ;  and  when  she  asked  me  if  I  were  willing  to 
return  with  an  answer  I  had  hardly  a  shadow  of  doubt 
remaining. 

But  at.  that  moment,  strange  to  say,  my  pity  for  poor  Bill 
quite  overcame  my  indignation  ;  and,  indeed,  it  seemed  so 
natural  to  me  that  every  one  who  saw  my  charming  Alice 
should  straightway  fall  desperately  in  love  with  her,  that  his 
arrogance  and  presumption,  instead  of  exciting  my  anger  or 
contempt,  as  one  would  naturally  have  supposed,  only  filled 
me  with  sympathetic  admiration.  But  this  admiration  did 
not  prevent  me  from  carrying  to  my  unfortunate  rival,  and 
that  too  without  the  least  feeling  of  remorse,  the  letter  that  I 
knew  full  well  was  destined  to  destroy  his  fondest  hopes. 

On  the  contrary,  as  a  warrior,  who  has  learned  to  respect 
the  valor  of  his  foe,  for  that  very  reason  redoubles  his  efforts, 
and  summons  all  his  energies  to  overcome  him,  so  did  I,  at 
the  discovery  I  had  just  made,  feel  my  fell  purpose  more  and 
more  confirmed. 

I  seized  with  an  almost  savage  joy  the  little  slip  of  bark 
that  Alice  now  held  out  to  me,  and  hurried  with  it  down  the 
cliff,  at  such  a  headlong  pace  that  to  this  day  I  never  think  of 
it  without  wondering  how  I  escaped  with  life  I  gained  the 
narrow  ledge,  however,  in  safety,  and,  looking  down  over  the 
brink  of  the  precipice,  my  eyes  were  greeted  by  so  strange  a 
17 


194  THE   NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 

spectacle,  that,  in  spite  of  my  hostile  feelings,  I  could  hardly 
refrain  from  laughing. 

Brevity  Bill  had  placed  his  turtle  on  a  large  flat  rock,  and 
having  thrown  himself  on  his  hands  and  feet,  directly  in 
front,  was  endeavoring  to  imitate,  as  well  as  he  could  in  that 
position,  the  figure  of  the  dance  I  had  just  taught  him,  and 
apparently  encouraging  his  pupil  by  word  and  look  to  follow 
his  example.  So  great  was  his  enthusiasm  that  he  not  only 
contrived  to  whistle  the  tune,  but  between  the  snatches  of  the 
music  I  fancied  that  I  could  hear  him  crying,  "  Chassez  ! 
Ladies  chain  !  Turn  partners  !  "  and  the  like,  mingled  with 
hoarser  exclamations  of  indignation  or  delight. 

This  attitude,  it  must  be  confessed,  was  not  very  favorable 
either  to  grace  or  agility  ;  but,  I  finally  concluded  that  he  had 
chosen  it  for  that  very  reason,  that  his  four-footed  disciple 
might  not  be  discouraged,  at  his  first  attempt,  by  witnessing 
performances  so  entirely  beyond  his  reach. 

But,  whatever  may  have  been  his  reasons,  I  certainly  never 
expected  to  find  my  would-be  rival  employed  in  such  a 
manner ;  and,  from  that  day  to  this,  I  have  been  wholly 
unable  to  make  up  my  mind  whether  to  ascribe  it  to  the 
greatness  or  littleness  of  his  character.  It  may  be  that  he 
had  not  sufficient  depth  of  feeling  to  be  much  affected  in  view 
of  the  momentous  consequences  which  he  knew  were  about  to 
follow  ;  though,  from  what  I  saw  of  him  afterwards,  I  have 
sometimes  thought  that  this  was  far  from  being  the  case,  and 
that  his  conduct  on  this  occasion  showed  rather  the  most 
astonishing  self-control,  and  the  same  calm  superiority  to 
external  fortune  for  which  Napoleon  was  so  remarkable. 

However,  severe  as  may  have  been  the  struggle  going  on 
within,  he  seemed  to  all  outward  appearance  so  perfectly  happy 
that  it  was  a  long  time  before  I  could  persuade  myself  to 


BILL'S  DEJECTION.  195 

interrupt  his  enjoyment.  I  waited  till  the  dance  was  over,  and 
then  calling  his  attention,  threw  down  to  him  the  fatal  letter. 

He  sat  down  on  a  stone  to  read  it,  and  the  turtle  slipped 
off  unperceived  towards  the  sea.  I  sought  to  warn  his  master 
of  his  flight,  but  he  was  too  much  abstracted  to  heed  my  cries, 
—  perhaps  in  that  moment  his  wonted  calmness  may  have  for 
once  deserted  him,  —  and,  long  before  this,  I  doubt  not,  the 
amphibious  dancer  has  found  his  way  home,  to  astonish  his 
gaping  neighbors  with  the  display  of  his  new  accomplishment. 

It  took  Brevity  Bill  at  least  an  hour  to  read  and  under 
stand  his  letter ;  then  rising,  with  the  air  of  a  man  who  had 
just  received  news  of  some  stunning  calamity,  he  simply 
looked  up,  as  if  to  see  whether  I  was  watching  him,  and 
retiring  to  a  hollow  beneath  the  rocks,  where  he  was  no  longer 
visible,  left  me  without  a  word  of  apology  or  explanation. 
I  waited  a  while,  thinking  it  possible  that  he  might  again 
make  his  appearance;  but  he  did  not,  and  as  the  sun  flaming 
over  the  cliff  above  showed  that  it  was  already  noon,  I 
slowly  turned  away.  Alice  looked  at  me  inquiringly  as  I 
approached ;  then,  seeing  that  I  had  nothing  to  tell  her,  she 
called  to  Hamlet,  and  hastened  after  me  through  the  turns  of 
the  forest. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

Home  Life.  —Its  Quiet  and  Monotony.  —  Happiness  it  gave  me.  —  "Want 
of  a  Fire.  —  AVant  of  Clothes.  —  Sharpshooting.  —  A  second  Voyage 
up  the  River.  —  The  haunted  Forest.  —  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  and  sur 
rounding  Scenery.  —  My  first  Antelope.  —  My  first  Tiger.  —  A  des 
perate  Battle.  — Mountain  Gorge.  —  Inland  Navigation.  —  Pride  of 
Empire. 

WE  now  began  to  be  very  much  at  home.  We  were  tired 
of  wandering,  and  disposed  to  lead  for  a  while  a  more  quiet 
domestic  life.  By  slow  degrees  the  spot  of  ground  around 
our  little  cottage  began  to  assume  a  more  settled  and  home 
like  aspect.  There  were  already  some  faint  traces  of  a  path 
leading  from  our  door  to  the  spring,  where  we  went  every 
morning  to  perform  our  ablutions,  and  many  times  a  day  to 
quench  our  thirst. 

The  rude  stone  steps,  that  I  had  placed  before  the  door, 
already  had  a  powerful  hold  upon  my  imagination.  I  loved 
to  sit  there  better  than  anywhere  else,  partly  for  the  delightful 
view  which  was  there  spread  out  before  us,  and  partly  because 
I  was  thus  reminded  of  those  almost  forgotten  days  when  I 
used  to  sit  for  hours  together  on  the  front  steps  of  my  uncle's 
house,  watching  with  unwearied  childish  interest  all  the 
changing  shows  of  a  great  city. 

Here,  to  be  sure,  there  was  nothing  of  the  kind.  I  saw 
every  day  the  same  solemn  and  thoughtful  trees,  the  same 


HOME   LIFE. ITS    QUIET    AND    HAPPINESS.  197 

gray,  lofty  cliffs.     I  listened  every  day  to  the  same  wind,  and 
watched,  as  it  almost  seemed,  the  same  clouds  in  heaven. 

There  was  no  change,  no  novelty  of  any  sort.  I  came  at 
last  to  know  the  very  birds,  and  the  hares  that  ran  fearlessly 
past  our  door. 

But  I  liked  it  all  the  better.  It  seemed  to  bring  me 
nearer  to  God ;  it  stilled  my  stormy  passions,  and  made  me 
know  the  sublimer  joys  of  tranquillity  and  repose.  Amid  the 
eternal  hush  of  the  forest,  away  from  the  jar,  and  the  din, 
and  the  turmoil  of  life,  our  hearts'  feverish  beating  was  sub 
dued  to  a  calmer  measure.  That  peaceful  and  divine  monot 
ony  had  harmonized  our  souls  unto  itself. 

Insensibly  I  came  to  regard  the  trees  about  us  as  my  friends, 
and  to  assign  to  each  a  character  of  its  own.  Not  one  of 
them  could  have  been  removed,  or  marred  in  any  way,  without 
my  feeling  it  as  an  injury  to  myself.  They  sympathized  in 
all  my  moods;  when  I  smiled,  they  laughed  and  clapped  their 
hands ;  and  when  I  was;  grave,  they  hung  down  their  heads  in 
silence. 

And  when  the  little  birds  came  hopping  about  our  door,  as 
they  did  without  fear,  for  we  never  harmed  them,  my  heart, 
like  a  summer  fountain,  ran  over  with  smiles.  I  said  to 
them,  —  I  could  not  help  it,  for  I  was  sure  that  they  must 
understand  me,  —  "  Good-morning  ;  I  am  glad  to  *ee  you ;  I 
hope  you  will  come  again ;  "  and  I  threw  them  seeds  and 
pieces  of  fig,  which  they  ate  between  my  very  feet. 

And  sometimes,  after  thinking  a  long  while,  I  would  feel 
so  wonderfully  happy  that  it  seemed  impossible  for  me  to  sit 
still,  and  then  I  would  suddenly  start  up  and  run  away  into 
the  woods,  to  shout,  and  laugh,  and  clap  my  hands,  and  tell 
the  trees  how  much  I  loved ;  and  if  I  did  not  write  the  name 
of  Alice  on  every  leaf,  it  was  because  I  was  sure  that  they 
17* 


THE   NEW   AGE    OP   GOLD. 

knew  it  perfectly  already,  as,  indeed,  though  we  had  been 
there  so  short  a  time,  there  was  hardly  an  echo  on  the  whole 
island  that  would  say  anything  else. 

So  now,  at  last,  my  dream  of  bliss  came  true.  My  life  was 
a  poem,  set  to  no  mortal  music,  and,  unbroken  like  a  river, 
it  flowed  onward  forever.  I  sat  and  watched  the  days  still 
come  and  go,  in  varied  song ;  some  tripping  laughingly  by ; 
some  walking  slowly,  in  solemn,  stately  march ;  and  some, 
again,  with  heads  bowed  down  as  in  deep  thought  or  sweet 
est  melancholy. 

Ah !  that  the  poet's  joy  were  mine  to  celebrate  those  days 
as  they  deserve  !  Not  one  but  what  was  worthy  of  a  song ; 
not  one  my  fond  heart  ever  should  forget!  —but  now  no 
more. 

The  want  of  a  fire  still  continued  to  be  the  most  serious 
drawback  to  our  happiness.  After  all,  home  was  not  home 
without  it.  The  sameness  and  insipidity  of  our  vegetable 
diet  wearied  and  disgusted  us.  We  had  an  irrepressible  crav 
ing  for  some  sort  of  animal  food.  So  much  of  our  civilization 
still  clung  to  us,  and  not  all  our  savage  philosophy  could  shake 
it  off.  The  lake  was  alive  with  fish,  and  the  woods  with 
game ;  but,  though  their  capture  would  have  cost  us  hardly 
any  trouble,  yet,  for  want  of  fire,  we  could  only  look  at  them 
with  longiug  eyes,  and  wonder  why  they  were  not  sent  already 
cooked  into  the  world. 

But  we  wanted  clothes  almost  as  much  as  fire.  When  we 
came  » shore  on  the  island,  I  had  on  a  cloth  cap,  a  pea-jacket, 
a  red  flannel  shirt,  a  stout  pair  of  duck  trousers,  and  a  pair 
of  boots.  Except  the  last,  they  were  not  much  the  worse 
for  wear,  and  would  probably  last  several  months  longer ;  but 
Alice  was  far  from  being  so  well  provided. 

What  had  once  been  a  very  pretty  dress  of  mousseline  de 


WANT    OF    CLOTHING. SIIARPSUOOTING.  199 

laine,  was  now  nothing  but  rags  and  tatters.  Her  shoes  and 
stockings  would  hardly  stay  on  her  feet ;  and,  as  for  her  bon 
net,  jt  had  sustained  so  many  injuries  in  its  rude  encounters 
with  the  branches,  that  it  would  soon  fall  in  pieces  by  its  own 
weight. 

At  the  time  of  our  landing,  she  had  in  her  pocket,  by  mere 
accident,  a  sort  of  housewife  or  needle-book  (I  have  it  now 
before  me),  in  shape  somewhat  resembling  a  dumb-bell,  made 
of  red  morocco,  and  containing,  I  think,  just  seventeen  pins, 
five  needles  of  different  sizes,  a  pair  of  scissors  fabulously 
small,  a  button  or  two,  and  a  single  ball  of  thread.  By  this 
time,  however,  what  with  constant  stitching  and  darning,  there 
was  not  even  so  much  as  a  needleful  of  thread  remaining ; 
and,  though  she  had  tried  to  supply  this  loss  by  drawing 
threads  out  of  her  dress,  they  were  too  frail  to  be  of  any 
service.  Her  under  garments,  fortunately,  were  still  in  pretty 
good  repair,  but  this  did  not  prevent  her  from  feeling  very 
uncomfortable  whenever  she  gave  a  thought  to  her  own  appear 
ance  ;  and  I  determined  as  soon  as  possible  to  supply  her  with 
a  more  becoming  attire. 

With  this  end  in  view,  I  now  devoted  nearly  my  whole  time 
to  practising  with  the  bow  and  arrow,  that  I  might  be  able, 
with  greater  certainty,  to  bring  down  the  antelope,  with  whose 
coats  I  proposed  to  supply  our  necessities. 

I  made  me  a  second  bow,  much  better  than  the  first  (I  never 
could  do  anything  well  the  first  time),  and,  having  carefully 
tipped  and  feathered  my  arrows,  I  hastened,  full  of  eagerness, 
to  measure  off  my  ground,  and  try  the  efficiency  of  my  new 
weapons.  In  a  few  weeks  I  had  attained  a  sufficient  degree 
of  dexterity  to  hit  an  orange  nine  times  out  of  ten,  at  a  dis 
tance  of  twenty  paces  ;  and  "  Now,"  said  I,  shaking  my  head 


200  TILE    NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 

with  a  very  triumphant  air,  "  I  am  ready  for  the  antelopes  just 
as  soon  as  they  choose  to  come  along." 

"  Do  you  really  think  you  can  shoot  them  ?  "  said  Alice, 
with  a  tone  that  implied  that  she  almost  wished  I  could  not. 

"  Certainly,"  I  cried;  "  I  can  hit  an  orange,  and  it  would 
be  strange  if  I  could  not  hit  what  is  so  much  bigger." 

"  But  they  run  so  fast,"  said  Alice. 

"  I  know  they  do,"  I  replied  ;  "  but  they  are  not  always 
running,  and  we  must  try  to  find  them  when  they  are  standing 
still." 

We  had  often  seen  antelopes  bounding  through  the  woods 
not  far  from  our  house,  and  once  or  twice  they  had  come  to 
our  spring  to  drink ;  but,  from  what  I  had  noticed  in  our  first 
expedition,  I  was  convinced  that  they  must  be  far  more  numer 
ous  in  the  centre  of  the  island,  and,  as  the  distance  was  now 
no  longer  any  objection,  I  determined  not  to  waste  my  time  at 
home,  but  seek  that  pleasant  hunting-ground  without  delay. 
Accordingly,  one  pleasant  morning,  we  again  went  aboard 
the  boat,  and  began  to  ascend  the  river. 

We  reached  the  orange  grove  a  little  before  noon,  and, 
having  loitered  in  this  charming  spot  nearly  all  the  rest  of 
the  day,  amusing  ourselves  pretty  much  as  we  had  done 
before,  we  then,  in  the  cool  of  the  evening,  resumed  our 
journey. 

My  enthusiasm  was  now  at  boiling-point.  The  country 
which  we  were  about  to  explore  was  altogether  strange  to  me. 
The  interior  of  Africa  was  not  more  so.  We  had  been  very 
near  it,  to  be  sure,  by  land ;  but  everything  looked  so  differ 
ent,  when  seen  from  the  river,  that  no  one  would  ever  think  of 
its  being  the  same. 

The  sun  was  about  an  hour  high  when  we  recommenced  our 
voyage.  The  river  had  now  again  entered  the  woods  ;  there 


RIVER    SCENERY.  201 

was  hardly  any  current,  and  nothing  to  impede  our  progress 
but  the  low-hanging  thickness  of  the  branches.  As  the  day 
wore  away,  the  darkness  increased  with  startling  suddenness. 
It  was  not  here  so  much  a  negative  as  a  positive  quality.  It 
was  not  simply  the  absence  of  light,  —  it  seemed  to  have  a  sub 
stance  and  body  of  its  own.  That  forest  seemed  to  be  its 
peculiar  home  and  abiding  place.  It  had  remained  there  so 
long  undisturbed  that  it  had  grown  thick  and  mouldy.  It 
hung  like  soot  upon  the  branches.  The  evening  breeze  shook 
it  down  upon  our  heads.  All  the  light  in  the  world  could  not 
lighten  it. 

The  birds  that  lived  there,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
were  an  extremely  sleepy  set.  I  often  passed  that  way  after 
wards,  and  never  found  any  of  them  awake  but  once.  It 
wanted  then  about  an  hour  to  noon,  and,  as  they  seemed  just 
making  their  morning  toilet,  I  concluded  that  that  was  their 
usual  hour  for  rising. 

About  sunset  the  noise  of  falling  water  warned  us  of  our 
approach  to  a  cataract,  and  apparently  of  considerable  size. 
Advancing  a  little  further,  we  came  to  a  sudden  bend  in  the 
river,  which  we  had  no  sooner  passed  than  the  whole  surpris 
ing  panorama  was  unfolded  before  us. 

The  river  formed  at  this  point  an  oval  basin,  perhaps 
a  hundred  feet  in  its  greatest  diameter.  The  water  was 
still  and  dark,  and  impressed  the  imagination  as  with  an  idea 
of  u] most  unfathomable  depth.  A  succession  of  cascades  at 
the  further  extremity  caught  and  reflected  back  the  brightness 
of  the  evening  sky,  so  that  all  the  light  which  fell  up°on  the 
picture  seemed  to  proceed  from  the  foaming  torrent.  The 
rocks  on  either  side  of  the  fall. towered  up,  one  behind  another, 
hundreds  of  feet  into  mid-heaven,  till  the  eye  turned  giddy  at 


202  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

scaling  the  dizzy  height,  and  the  lofty  trees  at  its  base  seemed 
dwindled  into  shrubs. 

The  scene  was  one  of  wild  and  terrible  grandeur,  and  all 
the  more  startling  from  the  strange  contrast  it  presented  to 
that  we  had  just  left. 

I  stopped  rowing,  and  let  the  boat  move  forward  with 
the  momentum  it  had  received.  Its  blacker  shadow  drifted 
noiselessly  and  ghostlike  over  the  black  water,  —  where  no 
shadow  had  ever  been  before,  save  that  of  some  passing  bird, 
or  of  some  cloud  in  heaven. 

For  a  thousand  years  that  cascade  had  gone  on  singing 
its  ceaseless  hymn,  —  with  none  to  listen  or  applaud, — 
singing  only  for  eternity.  But  now,  at  last,  "  fit  audience  it 
found,  though  few ; "  us  two  alone  of  all  the  human  race ; 
but  better  far  was  our  silent,  loving  homage,  than  the  heartless 
admiration  with  which  the  world  of  fashion  goes  up  every 
year  to  the  great  temple  of  nature  to  insult  the  majesty  of 
Niagara. 

Then,  suddenly,  it  came  across  my  mind  that,  ever  since 
creation,  that  fairy  island  and  all  that  it  contained  of  beauty 
and  sublimity,  had  been  waiting  for  us  to  come  and  take  pos 
session.  For  us,  year  after  year,  and  age  after  age,  the  trees 
had  grown,  the  flowers  had  blossomed,  the  fruits  had  ripened, 
the  wind  had  sighed,  the  waters  had  been  flowing.  And  now, 
at  last,  two  youthful  wanderers  from  a  distant  land,  led 
thither,  as  it  seemed,  by  the  merest  chance,  we  had  entered 
into  our  heritage. 

I  stretched  out  my  arms  as  though  I  would  clasp  the  whole 
island  in  my  embrace. 

"  It  is  ours  !  "  I  cried ;  "  it  has  been  kept  for  us ;  it  has 
been  waiting  for  us ;  God  brought  us  here,  and  we  will  never, 
no,  never,  leave  it !  " 


MY    FIRST    ANTELOPE.  203 

Here  was  the  end  of  our  journey.  We  had  come,  as  I  sup 
posed,  about  fifteen  miles,  though,  owing  to  the  circuitous 
course  of  the  river,  we  were  probably  not  more  than  five  or  six 
from  home.  This,  to  be  sure,  was  only  conjecture ;  for,  in  our 
former  expedition,  we  had  strayed  so  far  from  the  bank  of  the 
stream,  that  not  even  the  sound  of  the  falls  had  reached  our 
ears ;  and  hence  we  knew  very  little  as  to  their  true  position. 
Subsequent  observation,  however,  showed  that  I  was  very 
nearly  correct  in  my  calculations. 

On  attempting  to  anchor  the  boat,  by  means  of  a  heavy 
stone  I  had  brought  with  me  for  that  purpose,  I  found  my 
cable  too  short  to  reach  the  bottom,  and  we  were  consequently 
obliged  to  draw  nearer  the  bank ;  whereupon,  the  bear,  who 
was  probably  weary  of  his  long  voyage,  and  wished  to  stretch 
his  legs  a  little,  made  haste  to  scramble  ashore,  and  was  soon 
lost  to  sight  among  the  trees.  Our  spirits  were  rather 
depressed  by  this  desertion,  for  we  knew  not  what  dangers 
might  be  around  us,  and  should  have  been  glad  of  his  protec 
tion  ;  though,  as  it  turned  out,  we  need  not  have  distressed 
ourselves  on  that  account,  as  nothing  occurred  to  occasion  any 
alarm. 

We  slept  soundly  all  night,  soothed  by  the  lullaby  of  the 
waters,  and  did  not  awake  till  long  after  our  usual  hour. 

The  first  thing  I  saw,  on  opening  my  eyes,  was  an  antelope 
that  had  come  to  quench  his  morning  thirst,  and  was  now 
standing  up  to  his  knees  in  the  water,  not  more  than  twenty 
feet  from  where  we  were  lying. 

It  was  a  beautiful,  graceful  creature,  not  larger  than  a  sheep, 
with  short,  straight  horns,  and  legs  so  extremely  slender  that 
they  seemed  hardly  able  to  support  even  so  slight  a  weight. 
The  movement  I  made  in  reaching  my  bow  and  arrows,  startled 
it ;  and,  raising  its  head,  it  stood  looking  at  us  with  its  soft 


204  THE   NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD. 

blue,  melancholy  eyes,  with  such  an  air  of  confiding  inno 
cence,  that  my  heart  failed  me,  and  the  arrow  fell  from  the 
string. 

But  when  I  looked  at  Alice,  and  saw  her  little  feet  peeping 
from  her  clouted  shoes,  I  hesitated  no  longer.  She  certainly 
must  have  a  new  pair,  whatever  it  might  cost ;  the  necessity 
of  the  action  must  excuse  its  cruelty ;  and,  besides,  with  my 
clumsy  weapons  and  imperfect  skill,  I  really  began  to  doubt 
whether  I  could  inflict  any  serious  injury.  But,  as  I  dis 
missed  the  shaft,  the  antelope  turned  to  fly,  the  heavy,  jagged 
flint  pierced  its  side  just  behind  the  left  shoulder,  and,  with  a 
loud  splash,  it  fell  forward  into  the  water. 

I  had  never  killed  anything  before  in  my  life,  not  even  a 
bird ;  and  it  was  no  more  than  natural  that  I  should  feel  some 
compunctious  visitings  on  this  occasion. 

I  drew  the  poor  creature  out  of  the  water,  and  sought,  in 
every  way,  to  bring  it  back  to  life ;  but  I  could  not  do  again, 
even  if  I  had  tried  a  thousand  years,  what  I  had  undone  so 
easily.  Man  can  kill ;  God  only  can  make  alive. 

Strange  that,  with  this  fact  so  constantly  before  them,  the 
Hindoo  sages  should  have  placed  Seeva  the  Destroyer  higher 
than  Veeshnoo  the  Preserver  ! 

It  was  a  long  time  before  I  could  make  up  my  mind  to  rob 
my  deer  of  his  leathern  coat,  though  I  knew  that  he  had  no 
longer  any  use  for  it ;  but  the  only  way  I  could  justify  the 
ugly  murder  in  iny  own  conscience  was  by  turning  it  to  some 
useful  purpose ;  so  I  went  to  work,  and  in  an  hour  or  more 
my  disagreeable  task  was  done. 

I  had  a  vague  idea  of  making  both  Alice  and  myself  a  com 
plete  suit  of  clothes  from  this  single  skin ;  but  when  it  was 
spread  out  upon  the  ground,  I  was  mortified  to  find  that  there 
was  not  even  enough  to  make  her  trousers. 


A   TIGER.  205 

Now  she  needed  trousers  almost  as  much  as  she  needed 
shoes ;  indeed,  as  I  have  already  hinted,  there  was  hardly  a 
single  article  of  her  dress  that  was  fit  to  be  seen  ;  and,  though 
there  was  no  one  but  me  to  see  her,  I  knew  the  heart  of 
woman  too  well  to  doubt  that  the  state  of  her  wardrobe  must 
occasion  her  great  uneasiness.  What  I  had  begun,  there 
fore,  I  must  accomplish ;  and  if  a  hundred  skins  had  been 
needed  simply  to  make  her  slippers,  I  now  felt  ready  for  the 
sacrifice. 

It  was  easy  to  see,  from  the  appearance  of  different  parts 
of  the  shore,  that  this  was  a  favorite  place  for  the  antelopes  to 
drink ;  so  that,  if  I  only  waited  with  sufficient  patience,  I 
should  probably  be  able  to  shoot  as  many  as  I  wished  with 
out  even  stirring  from  the  boat. 

I  had  hardly  come  to  this  conclusion,  when  we  heard  a  sudden 
rustling  and  trampling  among  the  bushes,  and,  the  next  mo 
ment,  a  whole  herd  of  antelopes  burst  out  of  the  woods  and 
came  crowding  down  into  the  water.  The  ardor  and  excite 
ment  I  felt  at  sight  of  such  a  number,  made  me  quite  forget 
all  emotions  of  a  more  tender  nature,  and  I  had  already  taken 
aim  at  the  nearest,  when,  with  a  tremendous  roar  that  curdled 
my  blood  and  came  very  near  making  me  lose  my  balance,  a 
monstrous  tiger,  that  had  evidently  been  lying  in  wait  close  to 
our  boat,  bounded  forth  upon  his  prey. 

The  herd  scattered  like  a  flock  of  doves  when  the  hawk 
swoops  among  them.  Away  they  fled,  through  the  dark  for 
est,  each  increasing  the  others'  fear. 

One  alone  remained, —  not  willingly,  but  of  fierce  necessity, 
—  to  keep  the  tiger  company. 

With  trembling  haste,  pushing  further  off,  we  watched  the 
savage  monster  glaring  at  us  over  his  victim.  As  he  stooped 
to  quaff  the  rich  red  blood,  his  eyes,  from  under  the  heavy 
18 


206  THE    NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 

brows,  still  regarded  us  with  a  peculiar  malignity.  And  well 
he  might ;  for,  until  we  came,  he  was  lord  of  the  island  ;  but 
now  there  was  one  to  dispute  his  supremacy. 

And,  on  my  part,  I  regarded  him  with  equal  aversion.  I 
felt  my  whole  soul  go  out  towards  him  with  loathing  and  ab 
horrence.  His  small,  round  head,  his  muscles  working  so 
smoothly,  yet  so  powerfully,  under  the  loose,  velvet  skin,  his 
paws  cushioned  with  such  perfection  of  upholstery,  arid  his 
sharp,  retractile  claws,  whose  constant  thrusting  out  and  in 
showed,  too  plainly,  his  cruel  nature,  —  all,  inspired  me  with 
hate  and  fear. 

And  I  hated  him  all  the  more  because  it  seemed  so  impos 
sible  for  me  to  do  him  any  serious  injury.  I  could  not  help, 
however,  venting  my  spite  in  some  way,  and  I  accordingly 
let  fly  an  arrow,  that,  striking  him  in  the  side,  inflicted  a 
wound  just  enough  to  irritate,  without  in  the  least  disabling, 
him. 

It  made  him,  however,  excessively  angry ;  but  I  did  not 
blame  him  for  that.  It  is  not  pleasant  to  be  disturbed  at 
dinner,  in  that  way  especially ;  though  I  am  sure  that  if 
I  were,  I  should  not  roll  over  and  over  on  the  ground,  as  he 
did.  But  his  impotent  rage  and  malice  only  heightened  my 
satisfaction;  and,  finding  my  first  attempt  so  successful,  I 
determined  to  see  what  could  be  done  with  a  second. 

In  fact,  I  believe  I  should  have  gone  on  till  I  had  exhausted 
my  whole  quiver,  simply  for  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him  jump 
and  snarl ;  for,  thinks  I  to  myself,  if  he  does  not  like  it  ho 
can  run  away ;  but,  at  the  third  arrow,  as  if  this  was  alto 
gether  too  much,  he  sprang  into  the  water,  and  commenced 
swimming  vigorously  towards  the  boat. 

Alice  turned  pale,  and  uttered  a  low  cry  of  alarm,  and  I 
cannot  deny  that  I  felt,  myself,  a  slight  degree  of  fear  at  this 


BATTLE    WITH    THE    TIGER.  207 

unexpected  demonstration.  Without  saying  a  word,  however, 
I  dropped  my  useless  bow  and  arrow,  and,  seizing  the  axe, 
waited  his  approach  with  all  the  calmness  I  could  command. 
I  had  even  sufficient  resolution  to  reserve  my  blow  till  he  had 
got  his  fore  paws  and  head  over  the  gunwale ;  then,  with  all 
my  might,  I  brought  the  heavy  axe  down  between  his  temples. 

With  a  sullen  plunge  he  sunk  beneath  the  surface  ;  the  boat, 
relieved  from  his  weight,  suddenly  recovering  its  upright  posi 
tion,  I  lost  my  balance  and  fell  over  backwards  into  the  water. 
As  I  was  going  down,  I  saw  the  tiger  coming  up,  his  motley 
coat  of  black  and  yellow  gleaming  strangely  through  the  dark 
water. 

Being  so  much  lighter,  of  course  I  did  not  sink  so  far  as 
he  did ;  but  when  I  again  reached  the  surface,  and,  with  a 
violent  effort,  succeeded  in  raising  my  head  above  the  gunwale 
of  the  boat,  I  saw  his  ugly  face  grinning  at  me  from  the  other 
side. 

If  he  got  into  the  boat  first,  it  was  all  over  both  with  me 
and  Alice ;  but,  if  I  got  the  advantage  of  him,  his  case  was 
desperate.  He  seemed  sufficiently  sensible  of  this  fact,  and 
exerted  himself  so  violently,  that  the  veins  in  his  forehead 
swelled  like  a  brook  in  a  spring  freshet,  and  his  powerful 
claws  protruded  till  they  seemed,  to  my  excited  imagination, 
like  the  tusks  of  an  elephant. 

But  this  very  violence  impelled  the  boat  towards  him,  so 
that  his  body  was  drawn  entirely  under  it.  His  hind  feet 
came  in  contact  with  my  legs,  and,  in  an  instant,  my  trousers 
were  torn  to  ribbons.  I  could  not  see,  of  course,  but  I  judged, 
from  the  feeling,  that  my  skin  could  not  be  in  a  much  better 
condition.  Maddened  by  the  pain,  I  made  a  desperate  clutch 
under  water,  and,  happily  grasping  his  tail,  I  bent  the  end 


208  THE   NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 

over  the  side  of  the  boat,  where,  in  spite  of  all  his  struggles,  I 
had  little  difficulty  in  holding  it. 

Finding  that  I  had  him  at  this  decided  disadvantage,  I  now 
mustered  sufficient  breath  to  bid  Alice  take  the  axe  and  strike 
him  on  the  head.  She  no  sooner  saw  how  she  could  help  me 
than  her  fears  seemed  to  desert  her ;  she  lost  not  a  moment  in 
doing  as  I  requested,  till  the  tiger,  finding  himself  thus  as 
sailed  at  once  both  in  front  and  rear,  was  compelled  to  sur 
render  at  discretion. 

I  clambered  into  the  boat  more  dead,  than  alive,  and,  sitting 
down  on  one  of  the  thwarts,  surveyed,  with  a  rueful  counte 
nance,  the  devastation  that  had  been  wrought  in  my  nether 
habiliments.  The  other  damage  I  had  sustained  was  not  so 
extensive  as  my  fears,  though  four  distinct  channels  on  my 
right  thigh  and  three  on  my  left,  marked  the  course  of  the 
enemy,  as  plainly  as  the  march  of  Hyder  Ali  when  he 
swooped  down  on  the  Carnatic. 

I  bound  up  my  wounds  as  well  as  I  could  with  the  scanty 
remnants  of  my  handkerchief,  and  then  looked  round  to  see 
what  had  become  of  the  tiger.  His  body  was  floating  at  a 
little  distance,  and,  after  punching  it  a  while  with  the  oar,  to 
be  sure  that  he  was  really  dead,  I  towed  it  ashore,  and  then 
fell  to  work  to  take-  off  the  skin,  which  was  very  thick  and 
heavy,  and,  on  that  account,  I  thought,  better  fitted  for  mak 
ing  soles  to  our  shoes. 

I  also  took  off  the  skin  of  the  antelope  which  the  tiger  had 
slain,  and,  by  the  time  this  was  done,  I  was  sufficiently  tired 
to  stop  and  rest. 

I  had,  at  first,  intended  to  leave  so  dangerous  a  spot  as 
soon  as  possible ;  but,  in  the  first  place,  the  necessity  of  ob 
taining  an  additional  number  of  skins  was  now  greater  than 
ever ;  secondly,  we  were  desirous  of  exploring  the  neighbor- 


INLAND    NAVIGATION.  209 

hood  of  the  falls  more  thoroughly  than  we  had  yet  done  ;  and, 
finally,  the  bear  was  still  absent,  and,  as  for  going  without 
him,  that  was  out  of  the  question. 

Constant  exposure  had  made  us  callous  to  danger,  and  the 
wild  excitement  of  this  mode  of  life  was  not  without  its  at 
tractions  even  for  my  gentle  Alice.  So  we  determined  to 
remain  till  the  next  day. 

Accordingly,  after  eating  our  dinner  and  resting  a  while,  to 
recover  from  the  fatigue  of  our  recent  contest,  we  pushed  the 
boat  further  up  towards  the  falls,  and  going  on  shore  com 
menced  climbing  up  the  steep  and  rocky  banks  that  here 
fenced  in  the  river. 

The  scene  was  of  the  wildest  and  most  romantic  character  ; 
not  so  softly  beautiful  as  many  we  had  seen  before,  but,  per 
haps,  on  that  very  account,  the  more  attractive.  The  rocks 
were  piled  up  in  the  most  irregular  and  disjointed  manner. 
In  several  places,  apparently,  they  had  been  forced  asunder  by 
some  giant  tree,  that  had  thrust  its  gnarled,  fantastic  roots 
deep  in  among  the  crevices  ;  and  then,  with  many  a  groan, 
and  pant,  and  convulsive  straining  of  its  mighty  muscles,  had, 
at  length,  heaved  the  ponderous  masses  from  their  ancient 
bed. 

Others  hung  balanced  on  so  nice  a  poise  that  it  seemed  as 
if  the  weakest  touch  would  send  them  thundering  into  the 
gulf  below. 

At  the  very  summit  of  the  cliff,  on  the  northern  side,  a 
huge  block,  that  had  probably  been  detached  by  some  vast 
convulsion  of  nature,  had  toppled  forward,  and,  catching  on 
the  opposite  side,  had  formed  a  complete  arch  or  natural 
bridge,  beneath  which  the  river  flowed  at  such  a  prodigious 
depth  that  the  eye  could  scarcely  reach  the  bottom. 

The  hill  on  which  we  stood  was  only  a  spur  of  the  moun- 
18* 


210  THE   NEW   AGE    OF   GOLD. 

tain  range  that,  contrary  to  the  usual  law  in  such  cases,  ex 
tended  from  east  to  west  through  nearly  the  whole  length  of 
the  island.  This  spur  ended  abruptly  at  no  great  distance  to 
the  south  ;  and  I  wondered  that  the  brook,  instead  of  choos 
ing  so  difficult  a  path,  had  not  turned  a  little  to  the  left,  when, 
so  far  as  I  could  see,  it  would  not  have  met  with  the  slightest 
obstacle. 

I  found  afterwards,  however,  that  it  had  once  actually 
flowed  in  that  direction,  till,  its  course  having  been  blocked 
up  in  a  way  that  I  shall  relate  hereafter,  it  had  been  com 
pelled  to  seek  another  channel. 

On  reaching  the  eastern  slope  of  the  hill  we  beheld,  stretched 
out  before  us,  the  same  valley  that  had  so  charmed  us  when 
first  seen  from  the  opposite  direction.  At  the  further  extrem 
ity,  and  considerably  higher  than  the  one  on  which  we  were 
standing,  was  the  hill  where  we  had  made  our  home. 

I  was  now  able  to  lay  down  the  whole  course  of  the  river 
with  considerable  accuracy.  After  leaving  the  mountains 
where  it  had  its  rise,  it  first  flowed,  for  several  miles,  almost 
directly  west ;  then,  turning  to  the  south,  it  ran  in  that  direc 
tion  about  two  miles ;  after  which  it  made  another  bend,  and 
retraced  its  steps  towards  the  east,  till  it  emptied  into  the 
Lake  of  the  Woods.  -  Its  whole  course,  including  its  frequent 
windings,  I  now  thought  would  measure  perhaps  thirty  miles, 
though  it  was  not  navigable  for  more  than  two  thirds  of  that 
distance. 

By  deepening  the  channel  in  one  or  two  places,  it  would  be 
easy  so  to  improve  the  navigation  that  no  better  mode  of 
transport  could  be  desired ;  for,  though  the  current  at  several 
points  was  very  violent,  yet,  as  I  should  always  go  up  in  bal 
last,  and  go  down  loaded,  this  only  made  it  all  the  more 
favorable. 


PRIDE    OF    EMPIRE.  211 

As  might  be  supposed,  I  was  highly  pleased  at  finding  so 
large  a  part  of  my  little  kingdom  thus  brought,  as  it  were, 
within  a  few  steps  of  my  own  door ;  and,  indeed,  it  was 
hardly  possible  to  estimate  this  advantage  too  highly,  as,  with 
out  some  such  communication,  we  should  soon  have  been 
driven  to  change  our  residence  to  a  more  fruitful  region. 
Had  I  not,  then,  rightly  named  it  the  Mississippi  ?  For 
what  the  Father  of  Waters  is  to  our  western  valley,  that 
river  was  to  niy  equally  fertile,  if  not  quite  so  extensive 
territories. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

Second  Day  at  the  Falls.  —  A  Disappointment.  — Do  Antelopes  drink  on 
Thursdays  ?  —  The  Gourd  Tree.  —  Basket- Willow.  —  Shot-making.  — 
Down  the  River.  —  Antelope  Shooting. —The  Doc  and  her  Young.— 
I  become  very  unpopular.  — Political  Economy. 

WE  spent  the  second  night  as  we  had  done  the  first,  but 
rose  much  earlier,  in  order  to  be  ready  for  the  antelopes,  that, 
I  supposed,  would  be  more  likely  to  come  to  drink  at  this 
hour.  But  though  we  waited  patiently  till  long  after  the  sun 
was  above  the  horizon,  not  a  single  antelope  made  its  appear 
ance.  I  could  only  account  for  this  by  one  of  two  supposi 
tions  :  either  that  antelopes  never  drink  on  Thursday,  or  that 
the  alarm  they  had  experienced  on  the  preceding  morning  had 
driven  them  to  seek  for  water  somewhere  else. 

The  first  seemed  hardly  probable.  For  how,  without  any 
almanac,  could  they  tell  that  it  was  Thursday  ?  And  what 
possible  motive  could  they  have  for  such  penance  ? 

But  where  else  could  they  have  gone  ?  Not  up  the  river, 
certainly ;  for  the  country  was  too  rough  and  mountainous. 
Then  they  must  have  gone  down.  I  remembered,  now,  to 
have  seen  a  point  several  miles  below,  which  I  thought,  at 
the  time,  looked  as  if  animals  were  in  the  habit  of  drinking 
there,  and  it  at  once  occurred  to  me  that  this  must  be  the 
spot. 


THE   GOURD-TREE.  213 

It  was  too  late,  however,  to  reach  it  that  morning,  and 
we  were  accordingly  obliged  to  remain  yet  another  day  at  the 
falls. 

But  there  was  no  need  of  our  being  idle.  While  wandering 
about  among  the  rocks  I  had  noticed  several  trees,  of  about 
the  size  and  shape  of  a  common  apple-tree,  with  gourds  hang 
ing  on  them,  some  as  big  as  my  head,  and  others  not  larger 
than  an  orange.  I  cut  off  nearly  fifty  of  those  gourds,  intend 
ing  to  hollow  them  out,  and  use  them  as  cups  and  bowls,  which 
we  greatly  needed,  our  only  utensil  of  the  sort  being  the 
broken  shell  of  a  cocoanut,  and  that  was  cracked  so  badly 
that  it  was  of  very  little  service. 

In  going  to  and  fro  between  these  trees  and  the  boat,  I  was 
obliged  to  pass  through  a  low  marshy  thicket,  formed  by  a 
shrub  or  bush  closely  resembling  the  willow,  with  numerous 
slender  shoots,  some  of  which  were  fully  twelve  feet  in  length, 
and  no  thicker  than  a  pipe-stem. 

As  they  were  extremely  tough  and  flexible,  I  thought  they 
would  answer  admirably  for  making  baskets ;  and,  though  I 
had  some  doubts  how  far  we  should  succeed  in  the  manufac 
ture,  I  determined  at  least  to  make  the  experiment.  I  ac 
cordingly  cut  with  my  knife  as  large  a  bundle  of  the  stems 
as  I  could  conveniently  carry  in  my  arms,  and  stowed  it  in 
the  bottom  of  the  boat  with  the  gourds ;  and  then,  as  I  had 
nothing  else  to  do,  and  it  was  still  too  early  to  go  down  the 
river,  I  determined  to  beguile  the  time  by  making  Alice  a  pair 
of  shoes. 

In  this  I  found  no  sort  of  difficulty ;  —  not,  I  beg  the  reader 
to  understand,  in  making  the  shoes,  but  in  resolving  to  make 
them;  for,  though  certain  philosophers  have  undertaken  to 
prove  that  nothing  is  really  difficult,  if  we  once  make  up  our 
minds  to  it,  and  set  about  it  with  a  resolute  will,  I  found,  on 


214  THE   NEW   AGE   OF    GOLD. 

the  contrary,  that,  after  making  up  my  mind,  the  difficulty  had 
only  just  commenced. 

In  fact,  what  I  wanted  far  more  than  a  resolute  will  was  a 
good  resolute  hammer,  a  sharp  knife,  and  a  quantity  of  thread. 
If  any  one  of  the  aforesaid  philosophers  doubts  the  truth  of 
this,  let  him  try  to  make  a  pair  of  shoes  himself,  with  nothing 
to  work  with  but  a  tiger's  skin  and  a  jackknife. 

I  had  no  awl  to  bore  my  holes,  no  pegs  to  put  in  them,  no 
hammer  to  drive  the  pegs.  I  had  no  thread  for  my  bristles, 
and  no  bristles  for  my  thread.  I  had  neither  a  leather  apron, 
nor  a  bench,  nor  a  last,  nor  a  lapstone. 

Under  these  circumstances  I  doubt  if  Roger  Sherman,  or 
even  St.  Crispin  himself,  could  have  done  much  better  than  I 
did.  I  sharpened  my  knife  on  a  stone,  and  cut  out  my  work 
very  handsomely,  using  tiger-skin  for  the  soles,  and  deer-skin 
for  the  uppers.  Then  I  fitted  the  parts  together  to  see  how 
they  would  look,  and  fancied  that  they  made  a  very  pretty 
shoe. 

But  it  was  easy  to  see  that  deer-skin  and  tiger-skin  had  no 
natural  affinity ;  and  now  how  to  make  them  unite  was  the 
question.  There  was  only  one  way  that  seemed  at  all  feasible. 
I  selected  the  thinnest  part  of  the  deer-skin,  and  having  first 
scraped  off  the  hair,  I  cut  from  it  a  number  of  very  narrow 
strips,  such  as  are  often  used  as  shoe-strings  in  New  England. 
Here  then  was  the  thread ;  but  thread  without  an  awl  was  of 
little  service.  I  could,  to  be  sure,  make  the  holes  after  a 
fashion,  with  my  knife ;  but  in  order  to  finish  my  work  with 
any  degree  of  elegance  an  awl  was  absolutely  indispensable. 

After  searching  some  time  I  found  in  the  bottom  of  the 
boat  a  long  rusty  nail,  which  I  thought  might,  perhaps,  be 
made  to  answer  the  purpose ;  but,  as  it  was  now  getting  late, 
and  I  had  already  done  enough  for  one  day,  I  concluded  to  lay 


ANTELOPE    SHOOTING.  215 

aside  my  work  till  I  arrived  at  home.  I  accordingly  put  the 
nail  in  my  pocket,  which  was  about  the  only  part  of  my  trou 
sers  that  now  remained  to  me,  and  calling  to  Hamlet,  who  had 
returned  some  time  before,  to  come  on  board,  we  loosed  the 
boat  from  her  moorings,  and  began  to  drop  slowly  down  the 
stream. 

We  passed  through  The  Haunted  Forest,  and  came  about 
nightfall  to  the  point  where  I  expected  to  find  the  deer.  As 
we  approached  the  shore,  I  saw  at  once,  from  the  freshness 
of  the  footprints,  that  my  calculations  were  correct,  and  that 
a  large  number  of  antelopes  must  have  been  there  to  drink  that 
very  morning.  I  saw,  also,  that  it  would  be  easy,  by  conceal 
ing  myself  among  the  bushes  on  the  opposide  side  of  the 
stream,  to  bring  them  so  near  that  almost  every  shot  would 
be  fatal ;  and  in  this  way,  I  had  no  doubt,  I  could  kill  as 
many  as  I  wished. 

Everything  turned  out  as  I  had  expected.  The  deer  began 
to  make  their  appearance  before  it  was  fairly  light,  and  con 
tinued  to  follow  for  at  least  an  hour  after  the  sun  was  above 
the  horizon;  sometimes  singly  or  in  pairs,  but  oftener  in 
considerable  numbers. 

The  first  that  I  aimed  at  received  the  fatal  shaft  directly 
through  his  heart.  He  gave  one  convulsive  spring  into  the 
air,  then  fell  back  heavily  upon  the  ground.  The  event  threw 
his  companions  into  a  momentary  confusion.  They  stared  a 
while  in  stupid  wonder,  smelt  of  the  body,  stirred  it  with  their 
feet,  and  then,  as  if  satisfied  that  he  was  only  shamming, 
returned  once  more  to  their  cups. 

My  second  attempt  was  not  so  successful.  It  merely 
wounded  the  animal,  without  disabling  him ;  his  sudden  flight 
threw  the  whole  herd  into  a  panic,  and  in  an  instant  not  a 
single  deer  remained  upon  the  spot.  Their  place,  however, 


216  THE   NEW   AGE   OF    GOLD. 

was  soon  supplied  by  others.  From  my  murderous  ambush  I 
marked  the  largest  with  unerring  certainty,  and  at  every 
twang  of  the  bow  another  was  added  to  the  number  of  my 
victims.  When  my  heart  failed  me,  I  turned  to  look  towards 
Alice,  who,  unable  to  endure  the  sight  of  blood,  had  called  to 
Hamlet,  and  withdrawn  a  little  distance  into  the  woods. 
Then  sharper  twanged  the  bow,  and  fiercer  was  the  flight  of 
the  arrow. 

At  length  my  quiver  was  exhausted.  Nine  antelopes  lay 
dead  or  mortally  wounded  near  the  plashy  brink  of  the  little 
river.  Its  clear  and  transparent  waters  ran  red  with  blood. 

But,  though  I  had  slain  the  deer,  yet  I  loved  them.  1 
longed  to  take  one  or  more  of  those  pretty  creatures  alive  to 
carry  home  with  me ;  for,  in  time,  I  thought  they  would  learn 
to  return  my  affection.  After  revolving  in  my  mind  a  variety 
of  ways  to  accomplish  this,  none  of  which  seemed  likely  to 
answer  the  purpose,  I  hit  upon  the  following  expedient. 

In  taking  off  the  skin  of  the  deer  I  had  killed  the  day 
before,  I  had  taken  care  to  leave  the  head  still  attached  to  it. 
I  now  drew  this  over  my  head  and  shoulders,  making  it  look 
as  much  as  possible  like  the  living  animal,  and,  concealing 
myself  among  the  bushes,  I  waited  for  the  deer  to  approach. 

I  had  not  waited  long  when  a  doe,  followed  by  two  young 
ones,  came  bounding  down  to  the  river.  She  stopped  a 
moment,  as  if  in  doubt,  then  fearlessly  advanced  towards  the 
spot  where  I  was  lying.  The  moment  she  came  within  reach 
I  started  from  my  disguise,  and  seizing  her  by  the  horns 
tripped  up  her  feet  and  threw  her  upon  the  ground.  Alice, 
who  was  waiting  at  a  little  distance  to  see  the  result  of  my 
stratagem,  now  came  to  my  assistance.  I  bound  the  legs  of 
my  captive  with  one  of  the  willow  withes,  and  lifted  her  care 
fully  into  the  boat.  The  two  young  ones  looked  on  all  the 


I    BECOME    VERY    UNPOPULAR.  217 

while  with  countenances  expressive  of  the  utmost  grief  and 
indignation,  but  dared  not  interfere.  Their  plaintive  cries 
went  to  my  heart,  and  I  was  glad  to  get  them  into  the  boat 
by  the  side  of  their  mother,  whose  joy,  at  having  them  restored 
to  her,  seemed  to  make  her  forget  her  unhappy  condition. 

I  was  highly  gratified  at  the  result  of  this  affair,  and  after 
wards  still  more  so,  when  I  came  to  find  how  extremely  shy 
and  difficult  to  catch  these  creatures  could  be.  This  was  the 
only  time  when  this  artifice  could  have  succeeded  ;  and,  in 
deed,  I  could  never,  after  that,  get  even  near  enough  to  shoot 
them,  without  the  utmost  caution,  and  taking  care  to  approach 
in  a  direction  contrary  to  the  wind.  This  single  occurrence 
seemed  to  have  given  them  a  lesson  which  they  never  forgot. 

From  that  unhappy  day  a  change  appeared  in  our  little 
Paradise  somewhat  similar  to  that  which  our  first  parents 
mourned  over  at  the  Fall. 

Wherever  I  went,  I  was  now  regarded  with  fear  and  aver 
sion.  My  subjects  slunk  away  from  my  path,  as  from  the 
steps  of  a  cruel  tyrant.  They  probably  made  little  or  no  dis 
tinction  between  me  and  the  bloodthirsty  tiger  that  had  so 
excited  my  virtuous  abhorrence. 

I  was  sorry,  but  I  could  not  help  it.  My  sensibilities  were 
deeply  wounded  at  the  thought  of  my  sustaining  so  odious  a 
character,  but  I  saw  no  way  in  which  this  misfortune  could 
have  been  avoided. 

It  was  some  consolation,  however,  to  know  that  I  had  not 
been  the  first  to  introduce  terror  and  confusion  into  that  little 
world.  The  panther  and  the  tiger  had  been  there  before  me. 
I  had  as  much  right  to  kill  and  devour  as  they  had.  It  was 
no  worse  for  me  than  it  was  for  them.  To  such  miserable 
shifts  was  I  driven.  My  boasted  humanity  thus  humbled 
itself  to  take  shelter  under  the  example  of  a  beast. 
19 


218  THE    NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 

But,  after  all,  what  right  had  they,  any  of  them,  to  com 
plain?  As  their  lawful  and  undoubted  sovereign,  I  certainly 
was  justified  in  demanding  of  them  so  slight  a  tribute.  They 
could  not  expect  me  to  rule  over  them  for  nothing.  And 
though  the  burden  of  taxation  might  fall  rather  heavily  on  a 
few  individuals,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  assessing  all  alike, 
that  was  no  fault  of  mine,  but  one  of  the  evils  incident  to  all 
governments.  They  certainly  would  not  wish  their  emperor 
to  go  naked,  or  to  be  worse  clothed  than  any  of  his  subjects. 
They  ought  rather  to  feel  honored  by  his  condescending  so  far 
as  to  deck  his  august  and  sacred  person  with  garments  that 
had  once  covered  their  plebeian  limbs. 

Strange  to  say,  however,  they  failed  to  perceive  the  force 
of  this  reasoning ;  and  as  they  sought,  in  every  way,  to  avoid 
paying  their  share  of  the  moderate  tax  imposed  upon  them,  I 
was  obliged,  though  very  reluctantly,  to  declare  them  traitors 
and  outlaws,  and  confiscate  their  property  to  the  crown,  as 
often  as  it  came  within  my  reach. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

Return  Home.  —  Gathering  Oranges.  —  Hamlet's  Adventure  with  the  Mon 
keys.  —  His  Shame,  and  my  Satisfaction.  —  A  good  Memory  for  a  Bear. 
—  An  assorted  Cargo.  —  Difficult  Navigation.  —  Holding  the  Lantern.  — 
The  Doe  and  her  Young.  —  Hamlet's  Jealousy.  —  I  preach  him  a  Ser 
mon.  —  Its  good  Effects. 

IT  took  me  nearly  all  the  rest  of  the  day  to  skin  my  deer ; 
then,  yielding  the  boat  to  the  current,  we  drifted  rapidly  down 
the  stream  without  any  effort  of  our  own,  except  to  keep  her 
head  in  the  right  direction,  till  we  came  to  the  orange  grove, 
where  we  stopped  to  spend  the  night.  The  bear  here  left  us, 
as  he  had  done  before  ;  but  as  we  slept  in  the  boat  we  did  not 
concern  ourselves  about  his  absence. 

Early  the  next  morning  we  commenced  the  task  of  gather 
ing  oranges.  The  trees  where  we  obtained  our  chief  supply 
were  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  river  ;  and,  as  we  did 
not  choose  to  fatigue  ourselves,  it  was  nearly  noon  before  I 
carried  the  last  load  down  to  the  boat.  We  wished  then  to 
resume  our  voyage,  so  as  to  get  to  Palm  Grove  in  time  for 
dinner  ;  but  Hamlet  had  not  yet  made  his  appearance,  and  we 
accordingly  retreated  to  our  arbor  to  wait  his  arrival. 

Hardly,  however,  had  we  stretched  ourselves  on  the  soft 
turf  when  we  were  suddenly  startled  by  a  prodigious  uproar 
that  sounded  just  within  the  forest.  Hastily  starting  up,  I 
ran  out  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  I  saw  nothing,  but  the 


220  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

clamor  was  now  greater  than  ever,  and  I  was  wondering  what 
in  the  world  it  could  be,  when  I  heard  the  branches  cracking 
a  little  to  my  left,  and  the  next  moment  Hamlet  came  tearing 
through  the  bushes  at  a  furious  rate,  and  attended  in  such  a 
ridiculous  fashion  that,  for  the  life  of  me,  I  could  not  help 
laughing. 

Seated  astride  on  his  back,  and  holding  fast  by  his  left  ear, 
sat  by  far  the  largest  monkey  I  had  ever  seen.  In  his  right 
hand  he  held  a  stout  stick,  some  two  feet  in  length,  with 
which,  from  time  to  time,  he  belabored  the  head  and  sides 
of  this  unhappy  beast ;  though  more,  it  seemed,  to  irritate 
than  to  injure  him.  Whenever*  the  bear  attempted  to  throw 
his  rider,  by  rolling  over,  as  he  did  once  or  twice  while  I  was 
looking,  the  monkey  would  shift  his  hold  from  his  ear  to  his 
tail  ;  and  then,  as  soon  as  the  bear  rose  to  his  feet,  he  would 
by  a  single  spring  regain  his  former  position. 

Uesides  Alice  and  myself,  this  novel  and  entertaining  spec 
tacle  was  witnessed  by  a  whole  tribe  of  lesser  monkeys,  who 
followed  close  to  Hamlet's  heels,  and  testified  their  delighted 
satisfaction  by  an  endless  variety  of  chatterings  and  grimaces. 

Now  it  was  easy  to  see  from  his  actions  that  the  bear  had 
come  to  me  for  assistance ;  and  I  felt  myself  that  I  was  bound 
by  all  the  ties  of  honor  and  gratitude  to  render  it  to  him  with 
out  delay  ;  yet,  as  I  saw  that  he  was,  after  all,  in  no  particu 
lar  danger,  I  could  not  at  once  make  up  my  mind  to  do  so. 

To  tell  the  truth,  I  rather  enjoyed  seeing  him  in  this  ludi 
crous  situation.  He  had  lately  plumed  himself,  I  thought, 
altogether  too  much  on  his  superior  wisdom  and  sagacity, 
especially  since  my  misadventure  with  the  alligator,  and  I 
was  glad  to  see  him  thus  compelled  to  lower  his  pretensions. 
I  thought  it  wrong  to  deprive  him  of  one  of  the  benefits  he 
was  likely  to  derive  from  so  wholesome  a  lesson ;  and  I  had 


HAMLET'S  ADVENTURE  WITII  THE  MONKEYS.          221 

too  much  presence  of  mind  to  ruffle  my  dignity,  or  endanger 
the  safety  of  my  friend,  by  undue  precipitation. 

I  accordingly  bent  my  bow  with  the  greatest  deliberation, 
carefully  selected  my  arrow,  fitted  it  nicely  to  the  string ;  and 
then,  having  taken  another  look  to  be  sure  that  all  was  right, 
I  aimed  the  shaft  against  the  smutty-faced  rascal  who  had 
dared  to  subject  a  friend  of  mine  to  such  indignity. 

With  so  fair  a  mark  it  was  impossible  to  miss ;  but  the  dis 
tance  was  too  great  for  the  shot  to  be  fatal.  The  monkey  no 
sooner  felt  the  arrow,  which  struck  him  in  the  fleshy  part  of 
the  thigh,  or  the  part  which  is  usually  denominated  the  seat  of 
honor  in  a  man,  than  with  a  horrible  grimace  he  sprang  from 
his  saddle,  and  made  his  way  with  all  speed  into  the  woods, 
followed  by  the  whole  troop  of  his  noisy  companions. 

The  bear  pursued  for  a  short  distance,  but,  finding  it  impos 
sible  to  overtake  them,  he  soon  gave  it  up ;  shaking  his  head, 
however,  and  looking  after  them  with  a  most  significant  air, 
as  much  as  to  say,  "  Yes,  you  had  better  run,  but  let  me  only 
once  get  hold  of  you,  my  fine  fellow,  and  we  should  soon  see 
what  we  should  see." 

But,  in  spite  of  all  his  efforts  to  put  a  good  face  on  the 
matter,  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  conceal  his  chagrin  and 
mortification  ;  and,  indeed,  I  never  saw  a  bear  so  completely 
crestfallen  in  my  life,  till  at  last,  having  enjoyed  my  triumph 
as  long  as  seemed  right  and  fair,  I  thought  best  to  comfort 
him  a  little;  so  I  told  him  not  to  mind, —  that  he  was  not  the 
only  one  who  had  found  himself  in  an  unbecoming  position, 
that  philosophers  were  quite  as  liable  to  such  awkward  mis 
chances  as  other  people,  and  in  fact  more  so,  —  and,  finally, 
that  if  he  would  never  say  "  crocodile  "  to  me,  I  would  never 
say  "  monkey  "  to  him. 

He  assented  to  this  proposal,  though  rather  doubtfully ; 
19* 


222  THE    NEW   AGE    OF   GOLD. 

but,  finding  that  I  did  not  again  allude  to  the  subject,  he 
gradually  recovered  his  confidence,  and  before  the  day  was 
over  he  was  as  happy  and  cheerful  as  ever. 

Several  months  after  this,  happening  to  see  a  monkey  sit 
ting  in  a  very  tempting  position  on  one  of  the  topmost 
branches  of  a  lofty  tree,  I  shot  it  and  carried  it  home.  On 
showing  it  to  Hamlet  I  saw  at  once  that  he  had  not  forgotten 
his  humiliating  encounter ;  he  bit  his  lips  and  frowned,  at  the 
same  time  darting  at  me  such  an  indignant  look,  as  if  I  had 
in  effect  broken  my  promise,  that  I  knew  not  what  to  answer ; 
so  I  turned  away,  and  flung  the  monkey  behind  the  bridge. 

We  had  now  only  one  more  point  to  stop  at  before  reach 
ing  home.  This  was  at  the  grove  of  palms,  where  we  remained 
long  enough  to  gather  as  many  cocoanuts  as  the  boat  would 
hold,  and  also  a  small  quantity  of  tamarinds  j  and  then,  deeply 
laden,  we  once  more  pushed  out  into  the  stream. 

We  might  now  fairly  be  said  to  have  an  assorted  cargo. 
There  were  hides,  tamarinds,  basket-willow,  gourds,  oranges 
and  cocoanuts ;  the  doe  and  her  two  young  ones,  who  would 
more  properly  perhaps  come  under  the  head  of  passengers ; 
and,  finally,  the  crew,  consisting  of  three  persons,  myself  as 
captain  and  supercargo,  Alice  as  mate,  and  Hamlet  as  boat 
swain. 

The  weight  of  all  these  articles  brought  the  boat  down 
within  a  few  inches  of  the  water's  edge,  and  we  were  obliged 
to  proceed  with  the  greatest  caution  for  fear  of  upsetting  the 
whole  cargo  into  the  river. 

We  arrived  at  home,  however,  without  any  accident,  and 
then  commenced  the  task  of  transporting  our  goods  up  the 
long  and  winding  path  that  led  to  our  little  settlement.  We 
should  have  left  them  in  the  boat  all  night,  —  for  it  was  quite 
late,  and  we  were  already  tired,  —  but  the  next  day  was  Sun- 


HAMLET'S  JEALOUSY.  223 

day,  and  the  monkeys,  whose  thievish  propensities  we  well 
knew,  were  altogether  too  numerous  in  that  neighborhood.  I 
would  have  anchored  the  boat  out  in  the  lake,  where  every 
thing  would  have  been  as  safe  as  in  our  own  house  ;  but,  in 
that  case,  I  should  have  had  to  swim  ashore,  and  I  was  un 
willing  to  give  the  crocodile  another  opportunity. 

Alice  was  very  anxious  to  help  me,  but  I  would  not  let  her; 
for  I  knew  that  she  must  be  very  tired. 

"  No,"  said  I,  "  I  have  no  thought  of  letting  you  run  over 
these  rough  stones,  until  you  get  a  better  pair  of  shoes ;  but, 
if  you  choose,  you  may  hold  the  lantern,  for  it  is  so  dark  I  can 
hardly  see." 

At  this  she  laughed  merrily,  —  for  the  idea  of  our  having 
a  lantern  struck  her  as  very  funny, —  and,  picking  out  half  a 
dozen  of  the  ripest  oranges,  she  first  made  cups  of  the  rind, 
and  then  squeezed  the  rich  sweet  juice  into  them  for  me  to 
drink  when  I  got  through  my  work.  Ah,  how  good  it  tasted  ! 

I  tethered  the  doe  to  a  stake  before  our  door,  until  I  could 
find  time  to  stop  up  the  few  gaps  in  the  hedge ;  after  which  I 
intended  to  set  her  at  liberty  ;  but,  as  to  the  young  ones,  I 
knew  they  would  not  leave  their  mother,  so  I  let  them  run 
about  as  much  as  they  pleased. 

I  cannot  tell  how  delighted  we  were  with  our  new  play 
mates.  I  was  never  weary  of  watching  their  innocent  gam 
bols  ;  while  the  affection  they  displayed  for  their  mother,  and 
their  running  to  her  on  every  alarm,  touched  the  finest  chord 
in  my  heart.  I  always  loved  whatever  loved  its  mother. 

But  I  was  sorry  to  see  that  Hamlet  was  not  at  all  inclined 
to  be  friendly  towards  the  new-comers.  In  fact,  he  discovered 
so  clearly  his  jealdus  disposition  that  I  was  obliged  to  talk  to 
him  in  pretty  plain  terms  of  the  folly  of  which  he  was  guilty. 
The  idea  that  one  like  him,  possessed  of  so  many  admirable 


224  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

([ualities,  of  such  extensive  talents  and  acquirements,  should 
be  jealous  of  so  humble  and  obscure  an  individual  us  the  doe, 
who  had  seen  absolutely  nothing  of  the  world,  and  was  in 
every  respect  so  decidedly  his  inferior,  was  really  melancholy, 
and  seemed  to  show  that  the  noblest  natures  are,  after  all, 
'liable  to  the  same  weaknesses  as  those  beneath  them. 

And  I  did  not  hesitate  to  tell  him  just  what  I  thought 
about  it.  "  No  one  can  deny,"  said  I,  "  that  the  doe  is  a  very 
pretty,  lively  little  creature,  with  a  great  deal  of  natural 
grace  and  simplicity  about  her,  besides  an  amiable,  cheerful 
temper,  that  renders  her  peculiarly  winning  and  attractive ; 
but  you  know,  as  well  as  I  do,  that  she  has  never  mingled  in 
society,  is  neither  clever  nor  accomplished,  and  incapable  of 
conversing  upon  any  but  the  most  commonplace  subjects. 
How  then  can  you  imagine,  even  for  a  moment,  that  I  could 
ever  prefer  her  society  to  yours  ?  She  may  do  very  well  for 
a  plaything,  but  when  I  want  a  friend  on  whose  cordial  sym 
pathy  and  cooperation  I  can  confidently  rely  in  any  emer 
gency,  and  with  whom  I  am  sure  of  being  understood  and  ap 
preciated,  I  shall  look  somewhere  else,  I  assure  you." 

I  was  pleased  to  see  that  my  expostulation  was  not  with 
out  its  effect.  Hamlet  indeed  said  nothing,  for  he  perhaps 
did  not  like  to  acknowledge  his  error  ;  but  his  conduct  after 
that  exhibited  a  decided  change,  and  in  a  short  time  he  and 
Hero  —  as  Alice  had  named  the  doe  —  were  as  good  friends 
as  any  one  could  wish. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

More  at  Home.  — More  about  Shocmaking.  —  My  Skill  as  a  Tailor.  —A 
charming  Fit.  — Making  Baskets.  —  Cups  and  Dishes.  —A  new  House. 
—  Increasing  Wealth.  —  High  Notions.  —  Chairs  and  Tables.  —  A  royal 
Entertainment.  —  Brevity  Bill.  —  I  determine  to  release  Him. 

WE  now  remained  almost  constantly  at  home  for  two 
months,  with  the  exception  of  a  third  voyage  we  made  up  the 
river,  to  obtain  a  fresh  supply  of  oranges,  where  nothing 
seemed  worthy  of  notice.  We  were  far,  however,  from  being 
idle. 

I  was  obliged,  in  the  first  place,  to  finish  the  pair  of  shoes  I 
had  begun  to  make  for  Alice ;  and,  before  I  could  do  this,  I 
had  to  make  me  an  awl.  I  took  the  nail  that  I  had  found  in 
the  boat,  and  having  fitted  the  big  end  into  a  rude  handle,  I 
then  ground  it  against  a  rough  stone  till  I  had  brought  it  to 
the  proper  size.  This  operation  occupied  a  whole  day  and 
part  of  another,  and  after  the  awl  was  done,  it  did  not  an 
swer  the  purpose  half  as  well  as  one  that  I  could  have  bought 
at  home  for  a  few  cents.  I  would  not  change  it  now,  however, 
for  the  best  awl  that  ever  was  made. 

]$ut  the  shoes  especially  excited  my  admiration.  Instead 
of  using  a  welt  I  simply  bent  the  edges  of  the  upper  leather 
outward  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch,  and  then  sewed  them 
firmly  to  the  sole,  having  first  cut  a  narrow  groove  in  the  uu- 


226  THE   NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

der  side  to  protect  the  thread,  which  would  otherwise  have 
been  worn  out  in  a  few  days. 

The  principal  fault  of  these  shoes  was  that  they  were  too 
lanre,  or  rather  Alice's  feet  must  have  been  too  small ;  for  I 

O     " 

kept  making  the  shoes  smaller  and  smaller,  but  I  never  could 
gee  that  it  made  any  difference.  However,  by  stuffing  them 
with  soft  grass,  I  not  only  obviated  this  difficulty,  but  made 
them  much  easier  to  the  feet  than  they  would  have  been  with 
out. 

I  next  added  a  pair  of  leggings  to  protect  her  ankles,  and 
then,  having  done  all  that  was  required  of  me  as  a  shoemaker, 
I  set  to  work  to  see  what  I  could  do  as  a  tailor  and  milliner. 
For  reasons  already  given,  I  thought  it  would  be  far  better 
for  Alice  to  exchange  her  usual  style  of  dress  for  one  more 
like  that  I  wore  myself;  and  having  with  much  urging  over 
come  her  repugnance,  I  proceeded  to  cut  out,  first,  a  pair  of 
loose  trousers  —  then  a  vest,  fitting  closely  to  her  figure  — 
and,  lastly,  a  frock  or  sack,  worn  open  at  the  top,  and  secured 
by  a  broad  belt  about  the  waist.  These  garments  were  none 
of  them  sewed  in  the  usual  way,  but  held  together  by  a  pro 
digious  number  of  strings  or  points,  as  they  would  formally 
have  been  called,  the  ends  of  which  hanging  loosely  on  the 
outside  formed  a  sort  of  fringe  all  up  and  down  the  seams. 

From  the  nature  of  the  material  it  was  impossible  to  make 
this  dress  either  graceful  or  easy,  but  in  spite  of  every  disad 
vantage  Alice  looked  so  perfectly  charming  in  her  new  attire 
that  I  could  hardly  keep  my  eyes  off  from  her  for  a  moment. 
I  afterwards  found  means  to  remove  the  hair,  to  soften  the 
skins  by  rubbing  them  with  a  smooth  stone,  and  to  dye  them 
different  colors  by  employing  various  kinds  of  bark  ;  and 
then  my  Alice  was  dressed  as  richly  and  becomingly  as  I  had 


BASKET-MAKING.  2*27 

any  wish  to  see  her.  But  all  this  I  shall  relate  more  par 
ticularly  hereafter. 

My  next  step  was  to  make  a  suit  of  clothes  for  myself, 
which  did  not  differ  in  any  respects  from  those  already 
made  for  Alice,  except  that  the  trousers  were  a  little 
smaller. 

After  I  had  put  them  on,  we  sat  down  and  laughed  at 
each  other  for  half  an  hour ;  but,  when  I  came  the  next 
morning  to  see  myself  in  the  fountain,  I  was  so  disgusted  by 
my  own  figure  that  I  had  half  a  mind  to  throw  my  ugly 
clothes  into  the  sea. 

Deer-skin  caps  completed  our  equipment ;  but  we  were 
already  accustomed  to  that  style  of  head-dress,  so  that  it 
excited  neither  laughter  nor  disgust. 

We  now  thought  we  would  try  our  hand  at  basket-making. 
Here  our  material  was  all  we  could  ask  ;  but  our  skill  in  this 
was  even  less  than  in  either  of  the  others ;  and  our  first 
attempts  were  so  frail  and  rickety,  as  well  as  so  unsightly, 
that  I  dared  not  even  laugh  for  fear  of  their  falling  to  pieces. 
We  did  much  better,  however,  every  time  we  tried,  and  Alice, 
especially,  improved  so  fast  that  I  could  hardly  believe  that 
she  had  not  served  an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade. 

Of  all  employments  that  I  ever  tried  I  think  this  is  the 
pleasantest ;  in  fact,  we  both  found  it  so  fascinating,  that  we 
continued,  at  intervals,  to  make  baskets  long  after  we  had 
more  than  we  knew  what  to  do  with,  till  we  were  at  last 
obliged  to  stop  for  want  of  proper  material.  While  engaged 
in  this  delightful  occupation  we  did  not  remain  in  the  house, 
but  sat  on  the  ground,  in  the  open  air,  under  the  shadow  of 
the  mangrove  that  stood  before  our  door. 

We  used  these  baskets  for  a  great  variety  of  purposes.  In 
some  we  kept  oranges,  in  others  figs  and  tamarinds,  and 


228  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

cocoanuts.  Alice  sent  several  of  the  prettiest  as  a  peace- 
offering  to  Brevity  Bill,  who  found  them  very  convenient  in 
collecting  shells. 

But  they  were  only  fit  for  holding  solids.  I  had  read, 
indeed,  of  certain  savages  who  had  carried  the  art  of  basket- 
making  to  such  perfection  that  they  could  be  used  for  holding 
water.  But  it  seemed  to  me  that  it  must  be  very  much 
coarser  water  than  was  to  be  found  on  our  island. 

We  had  gourds,  however,  enough  to  answer  every  purpose, 
and  the  task  of  fashioning  them  into  cups  was  far  more 
simple,  and  hardly  less  agreeable,. than  basket-making.  Every 
time  we  went  up  the  river  I  was  sure  to  bring  back  a  fresh 
supply,  till  at  last  we  had  so  many  that  Alice  could  not  help 
wishing  to  give  a  party,  merely  for  the  pleasure  of  showing 
her  plate.  But,  as  this  would  have  been  altogether  too  much 
trouble,  all  we  could  do  was  to  arrange  them  on  shelves 
around  the  walls  of  our  house,  where  they  gradually  accumu 
lated  till  there  was-  no  more  room  to  put  even  a  single  cup. 

The  shelves,  which  I  made  expressly  for  this  purpose,  were 
formed  of  bamboo,  and  supported  at  either  end  by  being  let 
an  inch  or  two  into  the  wall. 

By  means  of  a  light  partition,  constructed  of  the  same 
material,  I  also  divided  the  house  into  two  apartments,  one 
for  me,  and  one  for  Alice,  that  she  might  thus  enjoy  that 
privacy  which  I  knew  she  so  much  desired,  but  which  she  had 
been  hitherto  obliged  to  do  without. 

As  we  began  now  to  be  straitened  for  room,  I  determined 
to  excavate  another  of  our  gigantic  gourds,  intending  to  use 
it  as  a  store-house.  The  meat  I  had  taken  from  the  first  had 
by  this  time  turned  quite  black,  and  shrunk  to  less  than  a 
fourth  part  of  its  original  bulk  ;  but  it  was  still  sweet,  and 
having  kept  it  so  long,  I  could  not  make  up  my  mind  to  throw 


CHAIRS    AND    TABLES.  229 

it  away  now.  I  accordingly  piled  it  up  in  one  corner  of  our 
new  store-house.  The  remaining  space  was  nearly  filled  with 
baskets  of  dried  figs,  and  oranges  and  cocoanuts,  which  I  had 
laid  in  against  the  approach  of  the  rainy  season. 

All  this  time  we  had  taken  our  meals  standing,  or  sitting 
on  the  ground,  and  usually  without  intermitting  our  labor. 
But  now,  as  we  had  more  leisure,  Alice  began  to  wish  for 
something  a  little  more  stylish,  such  as  chairs  and  tables ; 
and  though,  for  my  own  part,  I  was  well  enough  satisfied  with 
things  as  they  were,  there  was  no  other  way  for  rne  but  to  do 
as  she  directed. 

I  had  been  in  my  younger  days  rather  fond  of  reading 
Robinson  Crusoe,  arid  I  remembered  that,  when  he  wanted  to 
make  a  table,  he  hewed  a  plank  out  of  a  whole  tree.  But  that 
story,  though  certainly  very  ingenious,  was,  after  all,  only  a 
fiction,  and  no  man  in  his  senses,  especially  in  a  warm  climate, 
would  ever  think  of  making  a  plank  with  such  prodigious 
labor,  unless  he  intended  to  use  it  for  something  far  more 
important. 

I  made  as  good  a  table  as  any  one  could  desire,  in  half  an 
hour,  by  simply  driving  four  stout  stakes  into  the  ground,  and 
then  placing  on  them  a  smooth  flat  stone,  which  I  had  pre 
viously  brought  down  from  St.  Anthony's  Falls  for  that 
purpose.  This  was  certainly  much  better  than  one  made  of 
wood;  for  it  was  far  less  trouble  to  keep  it  clean;  its  weight 
made  it  more  steady,  and  it  would  last  a  great  deal  longer. 

Our  chairs,  or  stools,  as  I  suppose  they  must  be  called, 
were  made  at  first  of  bamboo  cut  off  about  a  foot  from  the 
joint;  but  afterwards,  as  our  skill  increased,  we  made  two  of 
wicker-work,  with  arms  and  backs,  which  were  truly  a  wonder 
to  behold. 

20 


230 


THE   NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 


I  remember,  as  well  as  if  it  were  yesterday,  when  we  first 
sat  down  at  our  well-filled  board.  Alice  and  I  sat  opposite 
each  other,  with  Hamlet  between  us.  His  head  at  that  time 
just  came  up  above  the  table;  and  though  I  am  quite  sure 
that  he  had  never  seen  anything  of  the  kind  before  in  his 
life,  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  any  one  to  behave  with 
more  exemplary  gravity.  Our  entertainment  was  certainly 
sufficiently  primitive,  not  very  unlike  that  which  our  grand 
mother  Eve  once  set  before  the  angel  Raphael,  when  he 
came  down,  with  such  delightful  want  of  ceremony,  to  take  a 
family  dinner  with  her  and  Adam.  Our  fruits,  at  any  rate, 
in  their  delicious  variety,  could  hardly  have  failed  to  satisfy- 
even  his  celestial  appetite ;  though  I  doubt  whether  all  his 
politeness  would  have  enabled  him  to  relish  the  coarser  roots 
and  shell-fish  that  accompanied  them. 
For  drink, 

"  My  Alice  from  the  tamarind-tree 
Had  plucked  its  acid  fruit, 
And  steeped  it  in  the  water  long; 
And  whoso  drank  of  the  cooling  draught, 
He  would  not  wish  for  wine." 

Alice  playfully  insisted  upon  our  changing  our  plates  at 
every  course ;  even  the  bear  must  for  once  conform  to  our 
example,  and  show  himself  as  good  a  Christian  as  anybody 
else.  Ah,  how  merrily  we  laughed  when,  after  trying  a  long 
time  in  vain  to  eat  as  he  saw  us  doing,  he  indignantly 
emptied  the  contents  of  his  plate  upon  the  ground,  that  he 
might  enjoy  his  meal  after  his  own  fashion  ! 

"  But,  what  a  pity,"  cried  Alice,  "  that  poor  Brevity  Bill 
could  not  be  here  with  us !  He  would  enjoy  it  so  much,  and 
there  is  just  room  enough  for  him." 


I    DETERMINE    TO    RELEASE    BREVITY    BILL.  231 

"  Perhaps,"  said  I,  "  you  are  sorry  you  did  net  accept  his 
offer?" 

Alice  said  nothing,  but  gave  me  such  a  look  that  I  was 
half  glad,  but  still  more  sorry,  for  having  spoken. 

To  make  amends,  I  added,  "  But  I  believe  you  are  right ; 
the  poor  fellow  would  enjoy  it,  I  have  no  doubt,  amazingly ; 
and  I  will  go  to-morrow,  the  very  first  thing,  and  see  if  we 
can't  get  him  out." 

"  How  will  you  do  it  ?  "  asked  Alice.  "  Have  you  thought 
of  any  way  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  I  replied,  "  I  will  untwist  the  rope  that  belongs  to 
the  boat,  and  pull  him  up  with  that." 

"  But  will  it  be  long  enough  ?  " 

"  O,  yes:  it  is  twenty  feet  long,  and,  as  there  are  three 
strands,  that  will  make  more  than  sixty  feet." 

"  How  so  ?     Three  ^imes  twenty  are  sixty." 

"  Yes,  but  untwisting  it  will  make  the  strands  considerably 
longer." 

"  Ah,  yes,  I  did  not  think  of  that ;  but  will  it  be  strong 
enough  ? " 

"  Yes,  indeed  ;  all  I  am  afraid  of  is  that  we  shall  not  be 
able  to  haul  him  up  so  great  a  height." 

"  What  a  pity  't  is  that  he  is  so  heavy  !  "  said  Alice. 

To  this  proposition  I  assented ;  and  then,  rising  from  table, 
I  proceeded  at  once  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements  for 
effecting  our  purpose.  The  motives  which  had  brought  about 
this  sudden  revolution  in  my  mind  will  be  explained  here 
after. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

Procrastination  and  its  Consequences.  —  Alice  and  I  descend  the  Cliff.  — 
I  sec  nothing  of  Brevity  Bill.— What  I  thought  about  it. —  Painful 
Discovery. Narrow  Escape.  —  Brevity  Bill's  last  Hours.  —  His  Mag 
nanimity.  —  My  Ilcmorse.  —  His  Death  and  Burial. 

I  GOT  everything  ready  that  afternoon,  fully  intending  that 
not  another  day  should  pass  without  seeing  Brevity  Bill  at 
liberty  ;  but  the  next  morning,  when  I  came  to  think  the 
matter  over,  I  could  not  make  up  nr^  mind  to  take  so  impor 
tant  a  step  without  further  reflection.  But  Alice  was  not  to 
be  put  off  any  longer.  I  managed,  indeed,  under  one  pre 
tence  and  another,  to  persuade  her  to  wait  one  day  more,  but 
that  was  the  most  she  would  allow ;  so  the  second  morning  we 
set  off  together  towards  the  shore. 

On  reaching  the  cliff,  and  looking  down  over  the  edge,  I 
could  see  nothing  of  my  prisoner  ;  but,  as  I  supposed  that  he 
had  not  yet  awaked,  this  unusual  circumstance  excited  no 
alarm,  and,  calling  to  Alice  to  follow,  I  began  to  descend  the 
steep  and  narrow  path  that  led  down  the  face  of  the  precipice. 

Hamlet  went  with  us  a  short  distance,  but  then,  finding 
the  walking  more  difficult  than  he  had  expected,  he  sat  down 
in  the  first  convenient  place  he  came  to,  to  wait  for  our 
return. 

If  Alice  had  been  dressed  in  her  usual  awkward  attire, 
nothin"  would  have  tempted  me  to  permit  her  to  brave  so 


PAINFUL    DISCOVERY. 


perilous  a  passage;  and,  even  as  it  was,  I  felt  no  little 
anxiety  lest  her  head  should  turn  giddy,  or  her  font  .slip  on 
the  smooth  rocks;  but  I  soon  found  that  I  had  really  no 
cause  for  any  such  apprehensions.  She  sidled  along  the 
narrow  ledges  quite  as  fearlessly  and  surely  as  I  did  myself, 
and  the  swaying  vines  seemed  yet  more  careful  of  her  safety. 

We  reached  the  bottom  triumphantly  ;  but  on  looking  round 
for  Brevity  Bill  I  could  see  no  more  of  him  than  before.  I 
called  again  and  again,  but  received  no  answer. 

What  could  be  the  matter?  Had  a  ship  come  and  carried 
him  off?  They  certainly  would  not  have  gone  without  us. 
To  be  sure,  I  had  no  wish  to  leave  the  island,  but  they  had 
no  right  to  suppose  so.  They  ought  to  have  sought  us  out, 
and  given  us  an  opportunity  to  decide  for  ourselves.  At  any 
rate,  the  least  they  could  do  was  to  fire  a  <iun.  Miserable, 
heartless  wretches  !  But  perhaps  Brevity  Bill  had  not 
given  them  any  notice  of  our  being  on  the  island  !  That 
would  just  suit  his  malicious,  revengeful  temper,  llow  he 
must  enjoy  his  triumph  ! 

But,  again,  what  if  he  had  found  means  to  ascend  the  cliff 
without  our  assistance?  This  was  worse  than  the  other. 
Just  as  we  were  doing  all  we  could  to  help  him  !  But  it  was 
just  like  him.  Nothing  would  give  him  more  pleasure  than 
to  disappoint  us.  And  I  should  not  wonder  if  the  skulking 
rascal  had  already  found  his  way  to  my  castle,  and  was  at 
that  very  moment  wreaking  his  malice  on  our  inoffensive  doe, 
and  the  wealth  that  we  had  accumulated  so  painfully  ! 

These  suggestions  of  Satan  all  presented  themsolves  to  my 
mind  in  a  single  instant,  and,  as  might  be  supposed,  occa 
sioned  me  great  uneasiness.  But  just  then,  as  I  was  already 
thinking  of  hastening  home  to  see  if  my  fears  were  true,  my 
eye  fell  upon  a  dark  object  lying  among  the  rocks,  jutt  beneath 
20* 


234  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

\vhere  we  were  standing.  It  was  some  time  before  1  could 
make  it  out.  An  arm? — and  a  leg?  —  a  face?  Brevity 
Bill?  Yes,  it  must  be.  Was  he  dead?  I  feared  so. 
Hastily,  and  with  trembling  fingers,  I  secured  one  end  of  the 
rope  to  a  small  tree  that  thrust  its  roots  in  among  the  rocks, 
and  slipping  over  the  precipice,  without  saying  a  word  to 
Alice,  I  commenced  my  descent. 

"What  is  the  matter?"  she  cried.  "Where  are  you 
going?" 

"  Stay  where  you  are,"  I  answered ;  "  I  will  be  back 
directly." 

"  But  0,  B-obert !  the  rope  is  breaking  !  come  back  !  come 
back!  " 

I  looked  up  and  saw,  as  the  rope  untwisted  with  my 
\veight,  the  loose  fibres  yielding,  one  after  another,  as  they 
came  in  contact  with  the  sharp  edge  of  the  precipice.  I 
looked  down,  and  saw,  still  fifty  feet  below,  the  sharp  and 
jagged  rocks  that  were  ready  to  receive  me. 

Should  I  go  up  or  down?  I  hesitated  a  moment,  and 
while  I  hesitated  1  could  feel  through  all  my  nerves  the 
peculiar  jar  that  accompanied  the  sundering  of  each  slender 
thread.  The  ascent  was  shorter,  but  the  descent  more  easy, 
and  the  risk  would  be  less.  So  down  I  went,  the  rope  run 
ning  like  fire  through  my  bleeding  fingers.  I  reached  the 
bottom,  hardly  crediting  my  good  fortune,  and,  as  my  feet  felt 
joyfully  the  solid  rock,  the  rope  came  rattling  from  the  cliff 
and  coiled  itself  about  my  shoulders. 

My  return,  in  that  way  at  least,  was  now  impossible  ;  but, 
without  stopping  to  reflect  on  the  possible  consequences  of 
this  untoward  accident,  I  hastened  at  once  to  ascertain  the 
condition  of  my  unhappy  shipmate.  As  I  drew  near  I  per 
ceived  from  his  groans  that  he  was  still  alive.  I  knelt 


BREVITY  BILL'S  LAST  HOURS.  235 

down  by  his  side,  and,  taking  his  cold  hand  in  mine,  besought 
him  to  tell  me  by  what  cruel  fortune  he  had  been  brought  into 
that  miserable  condition.  lie  attempted  to  speak,  but  his 
voice  died  away  in  an  inarticulate  whisper.  I  ran  and  brought 
him  some  water.  With  this  I  moistened  his  parched  lips  and 
burning  brow.  Then,  in  slow  and  broken  sentences,  he  told 
me  his  story. 

He  had  begun  to  despair  of  our  ever  doing  anything  for 
his  relief,  and  had  at  last  made  up  his  mind  to  see  if  there 
was  no  way  by  which  he  could  climb  the  cliff  himself.  About 
the  middle  of  the  forenoon,  the  day  before,  he  had  commenced 
the  ascent,  and  had  gained  a  height  of  some  fifteen  or  twenty 
feet,  when,  unluckily,  trusting  his  weight  to  a  slender  vine, 
it  parted  in  his  hand,  and  he  was  precipitated  to  the  bottom. 
Falling  on  his  back  upon  the  hard  rocks,  he  had  sustained 
very  serious  injuries  ;  arid  here,  unable  to  rise,  or  even  to  stir, 
he  had  lain  all  the  rest  of  the  day,  and  all  the  long,  weari 
some  night,  consumed  with  thirst,  racked  with  pain,  and  not 
knowing  but  what  he  would  have  to  die  without  ever  seeing 
US  again. 

"  I  feel,"  he  added,  "  as  if  every  bone  in  my  body  was 
broken  ;  my  bows  are  stove,  there  's  ten  feet  of  water  in  the 
hold,  and  I  can't  swim  much  longer.  But  never  mind,  Jack, 
my  boy  ;  it 's  all  right,  I  dare  say  ;  you  'd  have  helped  me 
out  if  you  could;  and  if  you  wouldn't,  why  it 's  just  the 
same.  I  've  felt  sometimes  as  if  you  had  n't  done  to  me  ex 
actly  as  you  'd  be  done  by,  but  no  matter  now ;  I  bears  no 
malice  ;  so  give  us  your  hand  in  token  that  we  part  friends. 
And  tell  Miss  Alice,  —  God  bless  her  sweet  face !  —  that  I  'm 
heartily  sorry  if  I  've  ever  done  the  least  thing  to  vex  her, 
and  I  hope  she'll  forgive  me.  And,  Jack,  mind  you  treat 
her  kindly,  for  my  sake;  she  's  a  young  thing,  and  delicate, 


236  T1IE   NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

and  has  not  been  used  to  our  rough  ways ;  aifd  don't  you  never 
let  a  tear  come  into  her  eye,  if  you  can  help  it.  I  wish  I 
could  see  her  afore  I  die.  I  feel  then  as  if  I  could  die  a  good 
deal  easier  ;  but  I  've  got  her  letter  right  here  ;  I  've  carried 
it  here  ever  since  ;  and,  Jack,  I  want  you  to  bury  it  with  me ; 
if  you  don't,  I  shan't  sleep  easy.  And,  if  you  ever  get  a 
chance,  you  must  write  home  to  my  old  mother,  and  tell  her 
all  about  it ;  she  '11  feel  bad  enough,  I  know ;  but  tell  her  I 
died  a  good  Christian,  and  never  forgot  anything  she  said  to 
me;  and  you  can  send  her  a  lock  of  my  hair,  arid  my  tobacco- 
box  ;  she  '11  vally  it  for  my  sake.  But  where  is  Miss  Alice 
now  ?  " 

"  I  left  her  only  a  few  minutes  ago,"  I  replied  ;  "  and  there 
she  is  now,  up  there,  looking  down  at  us." 

"  What !  is  she,  really  ?     And  can  I  see  her  ?  " 

"  Yes,    I  think  you  can,   by  turning  your  head  a  little. 
There,  you  can  see  her  now,  can't  you  ?  " 

"  0,  yes,  yes  !  I  see  her  ;  but  will  she  stay  there  ?  Don't 
let  her  go  away ;  she  '11  stay  there  till  I  die,  won't  she,  if 
you  ask  her?  'Twont  be  long,  and  I  feel  so  much  easier  to 
see  her.  It's  just  like  an  angel  looking  down  out  of  heaven. 
I  don't  mind  my  pain  in  the  least  now7.  Bless  her  !  bless  her  ! 
God  bless  her!  She  is  my  soul's  darling,  —  but  too  good  for 
me,  a  thousand  times ;  too  good  to  take  any  notice  of  me. 
But  she  won't  be  too  good  for  me  in  heaven.  She  '11  speak  to 
me  there,  sometimes,  when  we  meet.  Say,  Jack,  my  boy, 
does  she  love  you?  Ah!  —  well  —  I'm  glad  of  it.  I'm 
not  jealous  now  ;  don't  take  away  your  hand.  I  love  every 
thing  that  she  loves ;  but,  Jack,  you  must  love  her  with  all 
your  soul.  She  won't  be  satisfied  with  anything  shorter. 
And —  when  you  're  happy  —  think  —  of  me." 
.  While  he  thus  spoke,  I  sat  by  his  side,  without  daring  to 


BILL'S  MAGNANIMITY.  237 

speak  a  word,  and 'overwhelmed  with  shame  and  remorse. 
The  enormous  selfishness  and  cruelty,  of  which  I  had  been 
guilty  towards  this  unfortunate  sufferer,  now  presented  them 
selves  before  me,  for  the  first  time,  in  their  true  light.  The 
wretched  sophistries  with  which  I  had  hitherto  blinded  my 
conscience  had  no  longer  any  power.  In  the  presence  of  the 
king  of  terrors  falsehood  and  hypocrisy  shrunk  back  abashed. 

And  he  !  how  had  the  approach  of  death  exulted  him  !  I 
hardly  knew  him  to  be  the  same  person.  Could  this  be  the 
man  I  had  accused  of  so  many  ignoble  vices  —  upon  whom, 
but  a  short  time  before,  I  had  looked  down  with  such  con 
tempt?  Now  how  immeasurably  he  was  my  superior ! 

"  Bill !  "  I  cried,  "  dear  Bill !  you  must  not  die  ;  you  shall 
be  happy  yet.  I  have  wronged  you  shamefully,  and  I  cannot 
ask  you  to  forgive  me  ;  all  I  ask  is  that  you  will  only  live 
that  I  can  show  you  how  sorry  I  am.  Say,  isn't  there  any 
thing  I  can  do  for  you  ?  Shan't  I  try  and  move  you  where 
you  can  be  more  comfortable  ?  " 

"  O,  no,"  he  replied,  "  I  don't  think  it  is  worth  while.  I 
may  as  well  die  here  where  I  am  ;  the  least  movement  kills 
me  ;  but  I  wish  you  would  bring  me  a  little  water ;  I  am  very 
thirsty." 

I  brought  him  the  water,  and  he  drank  eagerly. 

Then  he  spoke  again.  "Jack,  you  mustn't  talk  so.  I 
dare  say  it 's  all  for  the  best ;  you  meant  to  do  about  right ; 
and  we  all  of  us  makes  mistakes  sometimes ;  but  see,  she  is 
smiling  at  me  —  she 's  beckoning  to  me  —  excuse  me,  Jack, 
but  I  can't  stay  now.  But  who  is  it,  my  mother  or  Alice  ? 
strange,  one  is  so  old  and  the  other  so  young,  yet  I  can't  tell 
which  it  can  be ;  it  must  be  an  angel ;  I  hear  — "  he  fell 
back,  insensible  to  this  world  of  pain  and  sorrow,  but  sensible, 
as  I  trust,  to  the  world  that  is  to  come. 


238  THE   NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

I  signed  to  Alice  that  all  was  over,  for  I  could  not  speak, 
and  then,  having  decently  composed  the  corpse,  I  walked 
along  the  shore  of  the  barren,  deep-sounding  sea,  whose  cease 
less  voice,  forever  singing  its  own  eternity,  impressed  the 
lesson  I  had  just  received  more  deeply  upon  my  heart. 

I  buried  him  there  on  that  distant  shore,  deep  among  the 
sands,  under  the  overhanging  rocks.  In  front  the  Pacific 
poured  its  "  vast  and  melancholy  waste." 

Bent  on  showing  in  every  way  my  late  repentance,  I  spent 
many  hours  in  erecting  a  rude  headstone,  and  carving  in  it 
the  name  and  birthplace  of  the  deceased ;  for,  though  man 
might  never  visit  that  lonely  spot,  though  the  winds  alone 
should  sing  his  funeral  dirge,  and  the  wild  sea-birds  alone 
there 

—  "  make  their  homo, 
Their  shrill  cry  coming  through  the  sparkling  foam," 

yet  I  took  a  melancholy  pleasure  in  showing  even  to  them 
how  fondly  I  cherished  his  memory. 

I  see  it  now,  that  single  solitary  mound ;  and  though  I 
cannot  expect  any  of  my  readers  to  share  my  emotion,  it  has 
for  me  a  deeper  pathos,  and  a  sublimer  morality  than  I  could 
have  felt  if  I  had  stood  under  the  drooping  willow  that  shaded 
the  grave  of  Napoleon. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

An  awkward  Situation.  —  Poetical  Justice.  —  Description  of  my  Prison.  — 
My  unsuccessful  Attempt  to  escape.  —  Night  on  the  Shore.  —  A  guilty 
Conscience. —  A  fearful  Visitor. —  The  second  Day.  —  Strange  Discovery. 
—  The  second  Night.  — I  resolve  to  explore  the  Cavern.  — Subterranean 
Lake.  — The  Skull. —  My  Method  of  Reasoning.  —  I  cross  the  River, 
and  lose  my  way. 

IT  was  not  till  I  had  dug  the  grave,  and  laid  my  friend 
down  in  his  last  sleep,  that  I  allowed  myself  to  give  a  thought 
to  my  own  situation  ;  but,  that  sacred  duty  being  fulfilled,  I 
began  anxiously  to  look  about  me  to  discover,  if  possible,  some 
way  in  which  I  could  escape  from  my  prison.  To  scale  the 
face  of  the  precipice  seemed  plainly  impossible  ;  for  at  the 
point  where  I  had  descended,  and  which  was  the  only  place 
that  afforded  any  chance  of  success,  the  cliff  projected  so 
boldly  after  reaching  a  height  of,  perhaps,  twenty  feet,  that, 
unless  one  could  walk  on  a  ceiling  like  a  fly,  he  could  not 
advance  another  step.  This  was  where  poor  Bill  had  made 
his  attempt,  and  though  I  was  as  strong  as  he,  and  far  more 
active,  I  perceived  too  clearly  the  difficulties  of  the  under 
taking  to  suppose  that  I  should  be  any  more  successful. 

I  attempted  a  long  time  to  throw  one  end  of  the  rope  up  to 
Alice  ;  but  it  had  become  so  loose  and  light,  by  being  un 
twisted,  that  all  my  efforts  were  in  vain,  till  at  last,  com 
pletely  exhausted  and  reduced  to  the  verge  of  despair,  I  threw 


240  THE    NEW    AGE   OF   GOLD. 

myself  down  upon  the  ground,  and,  with  bitter  sighs  and 
lamentations,  reproached  the  cruelty  of  fortune,  that  had  so 
suddenly  plunged  me  into  siu-h  an  :;!>yss  of  misery. 

I  could  not,  however,  help  looking  upon  it  as  in  some  sort 
a  retribution  for  my  past  cllences  ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  I 
hoped  that  justice  would  now  be  satisfied,  since  I  was  suffering 
in  my  own  pcv,;on  the  same  misfortunes  which  I  had  been  the 
means  of  inflicting  upon  another. 

But  now  the  declining  sun  warned  me  that  there  was  no 
time  to  be  lost  if  I  did  not  wish  to  spend  the  night  upon  the 
shore ;  and  once  more  starting  to  my  feet  I  began  pacing 
rapidly  back  and  forth,  from  one  end  of  the  beach  to  the  other, 
like  a  wild  beast  in  his  cage,  in  hopes  of  finding  some  loop 
hole  of  escape. 

The  spot  to  which  I  was  confined  was  shaped  like  half  a 
circle,  and  measured,  perhaps,  a  hundred  yards  in  diameter. 
The  rocks  at  either  end  ran  far  out  into  the  sea,  so  that  even 
at  low  water  there  was  no  possibility  of  passing  them.  They 
seemed  everywhere  almost  equally  steep  and  inaccessible; 
and  the  longer  I  looked,  the  more  formidable  appeared  the 
difficulties  of  my  situation.  But  when  night  approached,  my 
agony  seemed  well-nigh  insupportable.  Hitherto  I  had  been 
cheered  by  the  presence  of  Alice,  but  now  it  was  necessary  for 
her  to  return  home.  She  wished,  indeed,  to  remain  where  she 
was,  but  to  this  I  would  not  listen  for  a  moment ;  for  though  the 
thought  of  separation  was  exceedingly  painful,  and  I  knew  not 
what  evil  might  befall  her,  with  no  one  but  the  bear  for  her 
protector,  yet  I  felt  that  she  would  be  much  safer  in  our  little 
castle  than  on  that  narrow  ledge  or  in  the  open  forest  above. 

She  at  length  yielded  to  my  repeated  remonstrances,  but 
she  wasted  so  much  time  in  turning  back  to  say  Good-night, 
that  I  was  afraid  darkness  would  be  upon  her  before  she 


A    FEARFUL   VISITOR.  241 

reached  the  summit,  and  I  was  forced  to  run  away  to  the 
furthest  part  of  the  beach  till  she  was  out  of  sight,  though  the 
effort  almost  burst  my  heart. 

For  the  first  time  since  leaving  the  ship  we  spent  the  night 
alone,  —  I  on  the  solitary  shore,  Alice  in  our  lonely  cottage. 
Completely  exhausted,  as  I  was,  both  in  mind  and  body,  I 
could  not  sleep.  My  heated  imagination  was  perplexed  with 
strange  alarms.  Again  and  again  I  thought  I  heard  Alice 
calling  to  me  for  help,  and  when  I  started  up  to  fly  to  her 
relief,  I  found  myself  hemmed  in  on  every  side  by  those 
dreadful  rocks. 

And  when  the  moon  came  up  out  of  the  sea,  and  shone  full 
upon  that  new-made  grave,  it  seemed  to  me  as  if  it  would 
reproach  me  with  my  crime.  And  then  the  grave  opened, 
and  the  dead  body  stood  up  upon  its  feet,  and  walked.  It 
came  and  stood  by  my  side,  and  said :  "  You  murdered  me  ! 
If  you  had  kept  your  promise,  I  should  have  been  alive  and 
well ;  if  you  had  come  even  a  single  day  .sooner  ;  but  you 
put  it  off.  Now  you  must  answer  it." 

I  saw  the  features  of  the  dead  as  distinctly  as  I  had  ever 
seen  them  in  life,  and  even  the  clothes  he  wore,  and  the  but 
tons  on  his  coat.  Then  he  went  back  to  his  grave,  and  laid 
down  again. 

The  same  thing  happened,  I  should  think,  a  hundred  times  ; 
arid  every  time  he  said  the  same  words.  And  every  time  he 
said  them,  they  sounded  yet  more  fearful.  0  !  it  was  a 
dreadful,  dreadful  night ! 

How  I  longed  for  morning !  How  eagerly  I  hailed  the 
first  faint  dawn  kindling  in  the  dappled  east !  How  overjoyed 
I  was  at  sight  of  my  beloved  Alice,  as  she  came  tripping 
lightly  down  the  dangerous  path  ! 

My  courage  returned  with  the  light.  I  ate  heartily  of  the 
21 


THE   NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

figs  and  cocoanuts  that  Alice  had  brought  me,  and  then  began 
again  to  stady  the  face  of  the  precipice,  but  much  more  care 
fully  than  before.  Three  times  I  walked  the  whole  length  of 
the  beach,  fixing  my  eyes  successively  on  every  shrub,  or  vine, 
or  slight  projection,  or  whatever  seemed  to  offer  room  even 
for  a  single  foothold,  but  without  discovering  anything  that 
held  out  the  least  prospect  of  escape. 

But  the  fourth  time,  as  I  passed  a  thick  bush,  growing 
apparently  out  of  the  very  face  of  the  cliff,  some  twenty  feet 
from  the  ground,  I  thought  I  perceived  behind  it  a  slight 
hollow  or  excavation  ;  and  a  more  careful  scrutiny  having 
convinced  me  that  this  was  indeed  the  case,  I  determined,  as 
much  from  a  morbid  curiosity  as  any  other  motive,  to  see 
what  it  contained.  I  tied  a  large  stone  to  one  end  of  the 
rope,  and,  after  making  several  ineffectual  casts,  I  succeeded 
in  throwing  it  round  the  bush. 

I  then  ascended  with  little  difficulty,  and,  passing  behind 
the  bush,  found  myself,  to  my  great  surprise,  at  the  mouth  of 
a  cavern  that  extended  apparently  a  great  distance  beneath 
the  ground. 

"  Ah,  ha  !  "  I  said  to  myself,  "  a  cave  !  I  should  like  to 
explore  it.  I  have  always  wished  to  see  a  cave,  —  Putnam's 
Cave,  —  the  Mammoth  Cave  of  Kentucky,  —  the  cave  of  the 
Forty  Thieves.  But  I  have  no  time  now.  I  must  come 
again,  that  is,  if  I  ever  get  out  of  this  prison.  But  what  if 
this  cave  itself  should  lead  up  to  the  top  of  the  hill  ?  I  might 
try  it.  But  suppose  I  got  lost,  and  never  found  my  way  out? 
Then  I  should  starve  to  death,  buried  alive." 

No,  it  was  too  great  a  venture.  I  would  not  risk  it ;  at 
all  events,  not  until  I  had  tried  everything  else. 

I  descended  once  more  to  the  beach,  but  left  the  rope  still 
hanging  in  the  bush. 


I   RESOLVE    TO    EXPLORE    THE    CAVE.  243 

All  day  I  was  pacing  up  and  down  the  beach,  or  sitting  on 
the  ground  trying  to  plan  some  way  to  escape,  or  gazing 
stupidly  and  despairingly  upward  to  where  my  Alice  sat,  half 
lost  among  the  vines.  I  could  not  see  the  expression  of  her 
face,  but  I  knew  it  was  full  of  love  and  sympathy,  not,  per 
haps,  unmingled  with  reproach. 

All  day  long  she  sat  there,  longing  to  help  me,  yet  knowing 
not  how ;  but,  when  the  day  was  gone,  slowly  and  sadly  she 
ascended  the  hill,  and  I  saw  her  no  more. 

Again  the  moon  came  up  out  of  the  sea.  Again  the  grave 
opened,  and  the  dead  stood  before  me.  Again  those  eyes,  with 
stony  stare,  were  fixed  on  mine.  Again  the  cold  lips  moved, 
and  those  dreadful  words  froze  my  heart. 

Another  night  would  drive  me  mad.  Better  to  brave  the 
worse  than  midnight  darkness  of  the  cavern,  than  remain  any 
longer  exposed  to  such  a  visitation.  I  could  hardly  wait  for 
the  return  of  day.  As  soon  as  Alice  appeared,  I  made  known 
to  her  my  intention ;  then,  without  waiting  to  hear,  her  en 
treaties,  I  hastened  to  the  cavern. 

The  mouth  was  low  and  narrow,  and  I  could  only  enter  on  my 
hands  and  knees.  That  I  might  not  lose  my  way,  I  kept  close 
to  the  left-hand  wall ;  and,  to  avoid  the  danger  of  falling  into 
any  pit  that  might  chance  to  lie  across  my  path,  I  had  pro 
vided  myself  with  a  long  stick,  with  which  I  constantly  felt 
the  ground  before  me. 

The  path,  at  first,  was  nearly  level ;  but,  after  going  a  little 
further,  it  became  very  uneven,  ascending  and  descending  con 
tinually,  though  it  seemed  to  me  that  its  general  inclination 
was  upward.  The  height  of  the  Aof,  also,  was  hardly  ever 
the  same  for  a  hundred  yards  together.  Sometimes,  as  at 
first,  it  was  so  low  that  I  had  to  creep  on  my  hands  and 
knees ;  at  others,  as  I  judged  from  the  sound  of  my  voice,  I 


244  TILE   NEW   AGE   OF   CJOLD. 

came  to  wide  and  lofty  chambers,  domes,  and  galleries;  but 
all  the  while  it  was  so  dark  that  I  could  not  see  my  hand 
before  my  face,  and  whatever  beauty  and  magnificence  there 
might  have  been  in  those  subterranean  palaces,  it  was  as  en 
tirely  lost  to  me  as  if  it  had  been  a  thousand  miles  away. 

In  this  manner  I  must  have  proceeded  several  miles,  though 
the  path  was  so  crooked  that  I  had  not  probably  gone  over  a 
quarter  of  that  distance  in  a  direct  line,  when,  all  at  once,  the 
sound  of  my  staff  warned  me  that  I  was  standing  on  the  edge 
of  a  body  of  water,  and  that  I  could  not,  of  course,  advance 
with  safety  any  further  in  that  direction.  I  accordingly  turned 
to  the  right,  and  groped  my  way  along  the  shores  of  that  dark 
and  silent  sea,  in  hopes,  either  of  coming  to  its  termination, 
or  of  fin  ding  means  to  cross  it ;  though  what  those  means 
might  be,  I  confess  that  I  had  but  a  very  indistinct  idea. 

After  advancing  thus  perhaps  half  a  mile,  I  came  at  length, 
as  I  had  expected,  to  the  end  of  the  lake  ;  but,  unfortunately, 
I  came,  at  the  same  time,  to  the  end  of  the  cavern,  which 
happened,  oddly  enough,  to  be  of  precisely  the  same  size. 

Here,  then,  was  the  end  of  my  journey,  —  of  all  my  labors 
and  of  all  my  hopes ;  for,  if  I  did  not  succeed  in  this  way  in 
reaching  the  upper  air,  I  knew  no  other  way  of  doing  it.  My 
separation  from  Alice,  then,  would  be  forever.  I  could  still 
see  her,  to  be  sure,  and  carry  on  an  apology  for  a  conversa 
tion  ;  but  as  to  any  real  enjoyment  to  be  derived  from  her 
society,  she  might  almost  as  well  be  in  another  hemisphere. 

I  sat  down  to  rest  a  while,  and  think  over  my  situation,  or, 
rather,  to  torment  myself  according  to  my  wont,  by  making  it 
as  bad  as  possible.  * 

But  I  had  hardly  found  a  smooth  place  in  which  to  sit,  — 
for  when  I  am  going  to  be  miserable,  I  always  like  to  be  as 
comfortable  as  circumstances  will  admit,  —  when  my  hand 


SKULLS. CROSSING   THE   RIVER.  245 

came  in  contact  with  a  hard,  round  object  which  I  at  first 
supposed  to  be  a  stone,  but  the  next  instant  discovered  to  be 
the  skull  of  some  animal. 

Hundreds  of  others  were  scattered  all  around,  and  I  had 
been  walking  over  them  for  some  time  without  once  thinking 
of  their  true  nature.  The  cavern,  in  fact,  was  a  complete 
charnel-house,  a  vast  sepulchre,  where,  for  hundreds,  perhaps 
thousands,  of  years,  those  bones  had  been  accumulating. 

But  to  whom  had  they  originally  belonged  ?  Could  they  be 
human  skeletons,  the  only  remains  of  a  race  long  since  passed 
away  and  forgotten ;  such  as  have  been  sometimes  found  in 
our  western  world  ?  I  shuddered  at  the  thought,  and  started 
upright  upon  my  feet. 

Again  I  mustered  courage  to  feel  the  skull.  It  was  long 
and  pointed.  It  could  not,  then,  have  belonged  to  a  man.  It 
must  have  been  one  of  the  lower  animals,  brought  thither  by 
beasts  of  prey. 

But  how  ?  Certainly  not  by  the  way  that  I  had  entered. 
Then  thert3  must  be  another  entrance  to  the  cavern ;  and,  in 
all  probability,  it  was  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  water.  But 
if  they  had  crossed  the  water  why  could  I  not  do  the  same  ? 

Groping  cautiously  before  me  with  my  staff,  I  once  more 
stood  on  the  edge  of  the  lake,  which  had  impressed  my  imag 
ination,  I  know  not  how,  with  a  sense  of  immeasurable  depth. 
At  the  first  trial  my  staff  gave  a  depth  of  about  six  inches  ; 
at  the  second,  it  touched  the  opposite  bank.  I  tried  it  again 
and  again,  but  with  the  same  result.  Yet,  even  then,  I  could 
hardly  believe  it.  To  have  been  kept  in  check  so  long  by 
such  a  contemptible  adversary  ! 

I  entered  this  mighty  flood,  and  in  three  steps  stood  on  the 
further  shore.  An  excellent  moral  might  be  drawn  from  this 
adventure ;  but,  as  the  reader  is  doubtless  a  better  draughts- 
21* 


246  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

man  than  I  am,  I  will  leave  that  to  him,  and  continue  my 
story. 

I  was  now  much  nearer  the  right-hand  wall  of  the  cavern, 
and  I  determined  to  make  that  my  guide ;  but,  after  following 
it  a  long  dine,  I  suddenly,  and  without  knowing  how,  found 
myself  involved  in  an  immense  labyrinth  of  stalagmites,  or 
what  I  took  to  be  such,  where  I  lost  my  way  so  completely 
that  I  could  hardly  tell  my  right  hand  from  my  left. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

Lost  in  the  Cavern.  —  The  dead  Huntsman.  —  My  Meditations. — How 
They  were  interrupted.  —  The  pair  of  Eyes.  — Whose  are  They?— I 
make  up  my  Mind  to  be  eaten  by  a  Tiger.  —  I  am  agreeably  disap 
pointed. —  My  miraculous  Escape.  —  Hamlet's  Sagacity  and  Affection. 
—  Inconveniences  resulting  from  the  Death  of  Brevity  Bill. 

UP  to  this  time  I  had  felt  no  particular  alarm.  I  supposed 
I  could,  at  any  moment,  retrace  my  steps,  and  find  my  way 
back  to  the  point  from  which  I  had  started ;  but  now,  I  saw 
myself  helplessly,  hopelessly  lost.  At  this  thought,  I  felt, 
through  my  whole  soul,  an  intolerable  anguish.  A  convulsive 
shudder  ran  over  me ;  my  teeth  chattered  ;  weak  and  trem 
bling,  I  could  hardly  stand  upon  my  feet. 

But  I  would  not  die  without  an  effort.  I  would  walk  as 
long  as  I  had  strength  to  drag  one  foot  after  the  other. 

I  hurried  blindly  forward,  stumbling  over  the  bones,  and 
striking  my  head  against  the  hard  columns.  I  groaned  and 
shouted  frantically. 

The  skeleton  bones  stirred  and  came  together  ;  they  stood 
up  upon  their  feet,  and  then  came  clattering  after  me,  thou 
sands  upon  thousands,  streaming  through  the  winding  cavern. 
I  heard  their  loose  joints  rattle,  till  it  swelled  into  a  deafen 
ing  roar.  It  was  a  dreadful  chase. 

But  who  was  that  that  urged  them  on  ?     He  rode  the  big- 


248 


THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 


gest  and  foremost;  and,  ever  and  anon,  I  heard  the  sharp 
crack  of  his  lash.  Casting  a  hurried  glance  over  my  shoulder, 
I  saw  the  dead  face  of  Brevity  Bill  shining  through  the  dark 
ness  with  a  ghastly  and  phosphorescent  light. 

I  was  overtaken,  hurled  to  the  ground,  trampled  under 
innumerable  hoofs ;  and,  with  shouts  of  mocking  laughter,  the 
whirlwind  hunt  swept  by. 

When  I  came  to  myself,  I  was  lying  at  the  foot  of  a  pillar, 
weak,  and  unable  to  rise.  My  limbs  were  stiff  and  sore  ;  my 
throat  parched  with  thirst.  I  cannot  tell  how  long  I  had 
been  in  that  situation  ;  indeed,  from  the  moment  I  entered  the 
cavern,  I  seemed  to  lose  all  idea  of  time.  It  appeared  to  me, 
however,  that  the  sun  must  have  risen  and  set  many  times 
since  I  last  parted  from  my  beloved  Alice  ;  but  his  rising  sent 
no  gleam  of  light  into  that  living  tomb,  and  his  setting 
brought  no  increase  of  darkness.  One  long,  eternal  night 
reigned  there,  and  would  reign  until  the  solid,  opaque  earth 
itself  should  become  transparent  as  crystal  before  the  search 
ing  brightness  of  the  last  great  day. 

Here,  then,  was  to  be  my  tomb,  —  a  grand  mausoleum, 
more  magnificent,  by  far,  than  that  of  proudest  emperors  ! 
But  it  was  hard  to  die  alone,  and  shut  out  from  the  blessed 
light  of  heaven.  If  I  could  only  look  once  more  on  the  face 
of  nature,  —  if  I  could  only  clasp  once  more  Alice's  dear  hand 
in  mine, — if  I  could  say  "  good-by,"  —  then  I  could  die 
contented. 

But  this  might  never  be.  She  would  never  know  what  had 
become  of  me.  She  would  not  even  know  whether  I  were 
alive  or  dead.  In  the  evening,  in  the  morning,  and  at  noon, 
she  would  look  for  me,  and  I  should  not  come.  Perhaps  she 
would  walk  over  that  very  spot  without  ever  dreaming  that 
my  body  lay  mouldering  beneath. 


THE   PAIR   OF   EYES. 


249 


But  I  have  not  time  to  tell  the  thousandth  part  of  the  dis 
mal  fancies  that  haunted  that  dark  dungeon. 

Weak  as  I  was,  I  still  felt  that  water  would  revive  me  ;  I 
was  dying  of  thirst.  But  how  could  I  ever  hope  to  reach  the 
water,  not  knowing  its  direction,  nor  whether  it  were  ten  yards 
or  ten  miles  away? 

Still  I  did  not  quite  despair.  I  cannot  believe  that  any 
human  being  ever  did.  Much  as  we  talk  about  it,  I  cannot 
think  we  know  the  horrors  of  that  word.  If  I  had  perished 
then,  I  believe  that  my  last  thought  would  have  been  that  I 
was  about  to  be  saved. 

At  this  moment  a  slight  noise  attracted  my  attention.  My 
brain  was  so  disordered,  that  at  first  I  was  in  doubt  whether 
it  were  real  or  only  a  figment  of  my  imagination.  But,  look 
ing  in  that  direction,  I  saw  two  eyes,  that  seemed  fixed  upon 
me  with  a  strange  earnestness.  They  were  several  inches 
apart,  and  a  foot  or  more  above  the  ground.  This  showed  me 
that  they  must  belong  to  some  large  animal, —  a  panther,  per 
haps,  or  it  might  be  a  tiger.  This  was  undoubtedly  his  den ; 
and  the  probability  was  that  we  were  not  far  from  the  entrance. 
If  I  could  see  which  way  he  went,  I  might  muster  strength 
enough  to  crawl  after  him  into  the  open  air. 

But  what  if  he  should  attack  me  ?  This  new  fear  brought 
me  at  once  to  my  feet.  It  may  seem  strange  that  a  man 
dying  of  thirst  should  be  so  afraid  of  a  tiger ;  but  so  it  was. 
I  forgot  all  my  former  sufferings  and  apprehensions ;  I  forgot 
even  my  weakness,  and,  thinking  only  of  this  new  enemy,  I 
sought,  behind  a  pillar,  to  hide  myself  from  his  attack. 

But  it  was  too  late.  A  few  steps  only,  and  I  fell  prostrate 
on  the  earth.  A  single  bound  placed  him  by  my  side.  I  felt 
his  hot  breath  in  my  face.  Like  one  waiting  for  the  surgeon's 
knife,  I  set  my  teeth,  and  knit  my  brow,  and  clenched  my 


250 


THE   NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 


hands,  expecting  every  moment  when  his  cruel  fangs  should 
lay  bare  my  quivering  heart. 

But  he  did  not  seem  in  any  hurry.  He  was  probably  used 
to  the  business,  and  fond,  too,  of  impressing  his  nervous  pa 
tients  with  a  sense  of  his  own  coolness.  Or,  perhaps,  he  was 
trying  all  this  time  to  find  the  right  place.  He  put  his  head 
close  to  mine,  then  rubbed  it  gently  against  my  side. 

My  hand  brushed  against  his  coat.  It  was  not  smooth  and 
sleek  like  a  tiger's,  nor  yet  like  a  panther's ;  it  was  too  rough 
and  shaggy  for  either.  It  was  a  bear's,  — it  was  Hamlet^s, 
—  I  was  saved ! 

I  spoke  to  him,—  I  called  him  by  name,— and  the  faithful 
creature  almost  devoured  me  with  caresses.  That  dark  cav 
ern  seemed  suddenly  illumined  by  his  presence.  With  diffi 
culty  I  climbed  upon  his  back ;  I  threw  my  arms  round  his 
neck,  and,  at  once,  with  gentle  pace,  he  started  off  through  the 
windings  of  the  cave.  In  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  we  came 
into  the  open  air. 

I  was  at  first  almost  blinded  by  the  glare  ;  but,  as  my  eyes 
grew  stronger,  eagerly  they  drank  in  the  blessed  light,  as  a 
thirsty  man  drinks  water ;  even  the  commonest  objects,  the 
lights  and  shadows  of  a  rock,  afforded  me  greater  pleasure 
than  I  had  ever  received  before  from  the  most  varied  and 
delightful  scenery.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon,— so  much  I 
could  see  by  the  sun,  — but  whether  it  was  Saturday,  or  Sun 
day,  or  Monday,  I  had  not  the  least  idea. 

Nor  did  I  know  any  better  in  what  part  of  my  little  king 
dom  I  had  emerged.  Only,  as  the  beach  where  I  had  entered 
the  cavern  was  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  island,  I  took 
it  for  granted  that,  in  order  to  rejoin  Alice,  we  must  travel  in 
that  direction ;  and  this  was  the  direction  actually  taken  by 


STRANGE   EMOTIONS.  251 

the  bear.     The  sun  looked  over  my  right  shoulder  as  we  hur 
ried  through  the  depths  of  the  forest. 

We  came,  at  length,  to  a  little  brook.  Hamlet  would  have 
crossed  it  without  stopping ;  but,  impatient  as  I  was,  I  could 
not  resist  the  temptation.  I  slipped  from  his  back,  and,  lying 
flat  upon  the  ground,  drank  large  draughts  from  the  crystal 
stream.  The  effect  was  magical,  as  I  had  thought  it  would 
be ;  my  strength  returned  wonderfully.  I  saw  that  Hamlet 
was  tired  with  carrying  me  so  long  a  distance,  and  I  deter 
mined  to  go  the  rest  of  the  way  without  his  assistance.  He 
had  been  watching  me  all  the  time  I  drank,  as  if  fearful  lest 
I  should  again  escape  him ;  and  now,  notwithstanding  his 
previous  exertions,  he  was  evidently  unwilling  that  I  should 
walk  a  single  step.  However,  I  at  length  made  out  to  con 
vince  him  that  I  was  abundantly  able  to  go  alone,  and  once 
more  he  started  off,  while  I  followed  close  at  his  heels. 

Everything  seemed  then,  as  now,  like  a  dream.  I  am  con 
stantly  obliged  to  go  through  a  long  process  of  reasoning  to 
convince  myself  that  it  ever  happened.  I  was  like  one  risen 
from  the  dead,  or  a  ghost  hastening  to  revisit  his  former 
haunts.  The  ground  sounded  hollow  beneath  my  tread.  The 
rustling  leaves  and  crackling  branches  alone  showed  that  I 
had  weight. 

I  shouted  aloud,  to  be  more  sure  of  the  reality.  My  voice 
sounded  like  a  thing  apart.  It  was  not  I, —  it  was  not  mine. 

I  repeated  again  and  again  to  myself,  "  You  are  Robert 
Dexter  Romaine ;  you  are  not  in  Washington-street,  nor  in 
31 1.  Auburn;  you  are  ten  thousand  miles  away,  in  the  middle 
of  the  Pacific,  and  you  are  going  to  seek  Alice  Cremorne. 
Who  is  Alice  Cremorne  ?  —  Who  is  she  ?  —  she  is  the  fairest 
she  that  the  sun  shines  upon ;  and  Robert  Dexter  Romaine 
loves  her,  and  she  loves  him.  But  where  is  she? " 


252  THE    NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 

At  these  strange  ravings,  —  for  so  they  must  have  seemed 
to  him,  —  Hamlet  could  not  help  casting  back  at  me,  now  and 
then,  a  glance  of  wonder  and  pity.  He  led  the  way,  however, 
without  saying  a  word,  further  and  further,  into  the  heart  of 
the  forest,  never  stopping  a  moment  to  recollect  the  path,  and 
brought  me  at  last  to  a  large  tree,  at  whose  foot  I  discovered 
my  beloved  Alice,  lying  on  the  ground,  and  scarcely  distin 
guishable,  in  her  dark  dress,  from  the  leaves  and  mosses  that 
surrounded  her. 

"  There  !  "  looked  the  bear,  sitting  complacently  down  on 
his  haunches,  "  I  have  done  my  part,  now  do  yours." 

I  lost  no  time  in  obeying  his  injunction.  I  hastened  to  her 
side,  my  heart  full  of  the  most  painful  apprehensions ;  but,  as 
I  approached,  my  step  aroused  her ;  she  started  up  with  a  cry 
of  joy,  and  the  next  moment  we  were  clasped  in  each  other's 
arms. 

"  But  how  came  you  here  ?  "  I  asked,  after  we  had  suffi 
ciently  manifested  our  mutual  delight  at  this  unexpected 
restoration,  "  and  what  were  you  doing  in  this  frightful 
place  ? " 

"  0,"  she  replied,  "  I  came  here  to  look  for  you.  I  could  n't 
wait  any  longer;  you  didn't  come,  and  I  was  afraid  some 
dreadful  thing  had  happened  to  you ;  and  then  I  thought  per 
haps  you  had  found  your  way  out,  and  were  somewhere  here 
in  the  woods,  and  I  would  go  and  meet  you ;  and  very  soon 
I  lost  my  way,  and  wandered  about  so  long  that  at  last  it 
seemed  utterly  impossible  for  me  to  go  a  step  further ;  so  I 
sat  down  under  this  tree  to  rest,  and  I  was  thinking,  when 
you  came,  whether,  if  I  should  die  here,  the  robins  would 
come  a-nd  cover  me  with  leaves,  as  they  did  the  babes  in  the 
wood.  But  tell  me  where  you  have  been  all  this  time,  and 
how  — " 


INCONVENIENCES   RESULTING   FROM   BILL'S   DEATH.        253 

"  Tell  me  first  what  day  it  is." 

"  What  day  it  is  ?  why,  it  is  Friday  ! '' 

"  Friday  !  You  don't  mean  to  say  that  it  is  only  a  single 
day  since  I  left  you?  " 

"  Certainly  ;  I  saw  you,  you  know,  this  morning." 

"  Well,  well,  I  suppose  you  must  be  right ;  but  it  seems  to 
me  more  like  a  week ;  but  now,  let  us  be  going  home ;  that 
is,  if  you  feel  strong  enough,  and  Hamlet  will  show  us  the 
way." 

As  I  spoke,  I  called  the  bear  and  endeavored  by  signs  to 
show  him  what  we  wanted.  He  seemed  to  comprehend  the 
matter  without  the  slightest  difficulty,  and,  striking  at  once 
into  the  woods,  he  led  the  way  with  as  much  boldness  and 
confidence  as  if  he  had  been  over  the  same  path  a  hundred 
times. 

It  was  long  after  dark  when  we  arrived  at  home ;  but,  weary 
and  exhausted  as  we  were,  Alice  could  not  rest  till  I  had 
given  her  a  full  account  of  my  adventures.  Soon  after  she 
fell  asleep  ;  but  I  continued  still  to  ponder  the  various  events 
that  had  recently  happened,  and  the  consequences  that  would 
necessarily  follow. 

The  death  of  Brevity  Bill  had  occurred  at  a  time  when  it 
was  peculiarly  inconvenient,  not  only  for  himself,  but  for 
me.  I  had  already  made  up  my  mind  to  bestow  upon  him, 
as  a  partial  recompense  for  his  past  privations,  the  office  of 
Justice  of  the  Peace ;  and  then,  if  he  discharged  the  duties 
of  that  responsible  station  to  my  satisfaction,  I  intended  to 
promote  him  to  other  still  more  elevated  positions. 

Indeed,  if  I  had  found  him  capable  and  trustworthy,  there 

was  nothing  that  I  would  not  have  done  for  him.     I  would 

not  have  hesitated  to  appoint  him  Commander-in-Chief  of 

the  army,  or  Lord  High  Adi.iTal,  which  would  be  perhaps 

22 


254  THE   NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD. 

better  suited  to  his  inclinations  ;  or,  if  he  preferred  to  exercise 
his  talents  in  some  civil  employment,  I  would  even  have  made 
him  my  prime  minister,  and  keeper  of  the  privy  seal. 

My  marriage  could  then  have  been  solemnized  with  all  the 
legal  forms  and  ceremonies.  Alice  could  not  have  made  any 
objection.  If,  however,  she  chose  to  be  married  by  a  clergy 
man,  I  should  have  been  perfectly  willing  to  gratify  her  even 
in  that  particular.  Brevity  Bill,  to  be  sure,  had  never  re 
ceived  a  liberal  education ;  I  had  no  reason  to  suppose  that  he 
had  much  acquaintance  either  with  Latin  or  Greek;  but,  he 
was  a  good  man,  bating  the  slight  eccentricities  already  men 
tioned,  and  would  have  filled  the  sacred  office  quite  as  well  as 
some  I  had  known  at  home. 

But  now  all  these  fair  prospects  were  at  once  blasted. 
Brevity  Bill  had  died  just  at  the  moment  when  his  sun,  which 
had  been  so  long  behind  a  cloud,  was  all  ready  to  break  forth 
with  noonday  splendor.  All  his  life  long  he  had  languished 
in  obscurity,  and  when  at  last  he  seemed  just  on  the  point  of 
attaining  such  a  station  as  should  repay  him  for  all  his  early 
mortifications,  envious  fortune  had  snapped  short  his  brittle 
thread,  and  robbed  him  of  immortality.  I  have  read  of  many 
bitter  and  grievous  disappointments,  but  never  of  one  so  per 
fectly  overwhelming. 

And,  on  the  other  hand,  unless  she  should  change  her  mind, 
I  saw  no  longer  any  possibility  of  my  ever  being  united  to  my 
beloved  Alice.  We  were  doomed  to  a  life  of  joyless,  hopeless 
celibacy.  We  were  compelled  to  wage  a  desperate  battle 
with  death,  without  a  hope  of  ever  receiving  a  single  reinforce 
ment.  The  victory  must  finally  be  his.  We  might  resist  him 
successfully  for  a  while,  but  sooner  or  later  we  should  have  to 
give  over  the  unequal  contest.  That  fair  island,  where  we  had 
lived  so  long,  where  we  had  been  so  happy,  would  again  re- 


MELANCHOLY    REFLECTIONS. 


255 


turn  to  its  original  silence  and  desolation.  Our  graves  would 
be  the  only  witness  that  it  had  ever  been  animated  by  a  hu 
man  habitation. 

In  after  years,  perhaps,  some  shipwrecked  mariner  or  curi 
ous  traveller  might  find  his  way,  as  we  had  done,  through  that 
narrow  pass,  and  come  and  stand  by  our  forsaken  dwelling. 

With  what  strange  wonder  and  conjecture  would  he  turn 
over  the  scanty  memorials  of  our  mysterious  history !  Our 
names  carved  on  some  rude  stone,  —  perhaps  he  had  heard  of 
them  before,  —  perhaps  some  faint  recollection  of  our  unhappy 
fate  still  lingered  in  his  memory ;  but,  far  more  probably,  it 
would  be  a  perfect  stranger,  to  whom  our  names  and  fortunes 
were  alike  unknown. 

The  death  of  the  only  human  being  on  the  island  except 
ourselves  naturally  had  a  powerful  hold  on  my  imagination. 
One  third  of  our  whole  population  had  thus  been  taken  from 
us  in  a  single  day.  Such  mortality  had  never  been  known 
among  men,  even  in  the  worst  raging  of  the  pestilence.  Even 
in  the  great  plague  of  London,  when  the  grass  grew  in  the 
streets,  the  number  of  the  dead  bore  no  such  proportion  to  that 
of  the  survivors. 

As  I  thought  of  these  things,  an  indescribable  melancholy 
took  possession  of  my  soul.  I  called  to  Alice,  but  she  was 
sleeping  quietly,  and  made  me  no  answer.  To  be  separated 
from  her,  even  by  so  slight  an  obstacle,  seemed  at  that  moment 
well-nigh  intolerable.  I  forced  my  arm  through  the  bamboo 
partition,  and,  having  found  her  little  hand,  I  clasped  it  in 
mine ;  and,  thus  soothed  and  comforted,  I  fell  asleep. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

Home  Life.  —  Hamlet  and  his  foster-Children.  —  I  ain  again  moved  with 
the  Spirit  of  Adventure.  — I  resolve  to  visit  the  Volcano.  —  Ascending 
the  Mountain.  —  Camping  at  Night.  —  Natural  Arch.  —  Sudden  Alarm. 

An  unreasonable  Visit.  —  Coming  to  Supper.  —  Going  away  without 

It.  — Total  Discomfiture  of  the  Hyenas. 

THE  taste  of  adventure  given  in  the  last  few  chapters  was, 
as  might  well  be  supposed,  enough  to  satisfy  me  for  several 
weeks.  If  I  ever  felt  any  temptation  to  go  in  pursuit  of  fresh 
excitement,  the  recollection  of  what  I  had  suffered  on  the 
beach,  and  in  the  cave,  was  sufficient  to  dispel  all  such  uneasy 
longings,  and  incline  me  to  yield  without  resistance  to  the  en 
treaties  of  my  beloved  Alice,  who  was  never  so  happy  as  when 
seated  under  the  shade  of  the  mangrove,  weaving  baskets, 
watching  the  innocent  gambols  of  Romp  and  Una,  or  listening 
to  the  oft-repeated  stories  of  my  early  days. 

I  went,  it  is  true,  nearly  every  day  to  the  spot  where  I  had 
buried  my  unhappy  comrade,  to  carve  his  name  upon  the  rude 
low  headstone,  to  strew  the  grave  with  flowers,  and  to  implore 
the  forgiveness  of  God,  for  the  sin  of  which  I  had  been  guilty. 
As  I  had  left  the  rope  by  which  I  had  first  descended  still 
hanging  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  I  supplied  its  place  with  a 
gigantic  vine,  taking  care  to  guard  it  against  chafing  on  the 
edge  of  the  precipice  by  inserting  several  thicknesses  of  bark. 


HAMLET   AND    HIS   FOSTER-CHILDREN.  257 

With  this  exception  I  remained  constantly  at  home,  per 
fecting  our  various  branches  of  manufacture,  and  solacing  my 
self  with  the  cheerful  society  of  .my  friends. 

The  doe  and  her  young  ones  had  already  become  quite  tame, 
and  promised  to  form  a  very  agreeable  addition  to  my  little 
family.  I  noticed  with  pleasure  that  Hamlet  no  longer  enter 
tained  any  of  that  jealousy  with  which  he  had  at  first  regard 
ed  the  new-comers.  He  had  himself  voluntarily  assumed  the 
office  of  a  foster-father  to  those  young  orphans ;  he  watched 
over  their  safety  with  unceasing  vigilance,  —  was  evidently  very 
solicitous  about  their  manners  and  morals,  —  gave  them  all 
the  instruction  that  was  suited  to  their  tender  years,  —  ac 
companied  them  in  their  walks,  and  even  condescended  occa 
sionally  to  a  game  of  romps. 

When  I  saw  how  tenderly  he  dandled  them  in  his  huge 
paws,  how  careful  he  was  not  to  hurt  them,  and  how  good- 
humoredly  he  submitted  to  their  rough  and  sometimes  boister 
ous  treatment,  I  could  not  help  thinking  that  he  would  have 
made  the  very  best  father  in  the  world  ;  and  I  was  sorry  that 
he  had  no  children  of  his  own  to  play  with. 

"  Poor  old  bachelor  bear  !  "  I  exclaimed,  "  it  is  always  the 
way  —  the  best  and  kindest  hearts  are  the  very  ones  that 
never  find  an  opportunity  to  prove  the  wealth  of  their  affec 
tion.  If  you  had  been  cross,  and  ugly,  and  crabbed,  like 
some  bears  that  I  know,  you  would  have  been,  by  this  time,  I 
dare  say,  the  husband  of  some  young,  delicate  creature,  a 
thousand  times  too  good  for  you ;  but,  as  you  are  kind,  and 
generous,  and  noble,  you  have  no  one  to  love,  and  no  one  to 
love  you,  but  the  children  of  a  stranger." 

With  this  I  fell  into  a  fit  of  musing,  that  lasted  at  least  an 
hour,  but  ended,  however,  as  others  had  done,  without  my 
discovering  any  remedy  for  the  evils  I  so  much  deplored. 
22* 


258  T11E   NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 

I  lived  in  this  way  several  weeks  ;  but  then  I  began  to 
tire  oi'  this  life  of  inaction,  and  to  long  for  some  new  excite 
ment.  The  mountains,  lliau  formed  the  backbone  of  our 
island,  held  out  a  boundless  field  of  discovery  and  adventure. 
I  had  long  since  determined  to  explore  them  ;  but  had  not 
yet  (bund  a  convenient  opportunity.  iSovv,  however,  I  had 
nothing  else  to  do;  the  rainy  season  was  approaching,  when  it 
would  be  difficult  to  go  far  from  home,  and  I  was  unwilling  to 
let  i  he  summer  pass  without  our  obtaining  any  additional 
knowledge  of  our  little  kingdom. 

From  various  indications  I  had  already  come  to  the  con 
clusion  that  the  island  must  be  of  volcanic  origin  ;  and  though 
everything  seemed  to  show  that  the  subterranean  fires  had 
long  been  extinguished,  yet  even  an  extinct  volcano,  like  a 
dead  elephant,  is  worth  seeing  to  one  who  had  never  beheld  it 
when  alive. 

If  we  had  been  obliged  to  go  a  thousand  miles  to  find  it,  the 
case  would  have  been  different ;  but  there  it  was,  in  full  view, 
and  scarcely  a  day's  journey  from  our  own  door ;  so  that  it 
would  seem  to  argue  a  total  lack  of  enthusiasm  and  philosoph 
ic  curiosity  to  forego  any  longer  the  pleasure  of  witnessing 
so  rare  and  sublime  a  spectacle. 

We  left  home  early  in  the  morning,  leaving  the  doe  to  keep 
house  during  our  absence  ;  but  instead  of  descending,  as  usual, 
into  the  valley,  we  kept  along  the  summit  of  the  ridge,  till, 
coming  to  what  seemed  a  convenient  place,  we  turned  to  the 
right,  and  began  to  ascend  the  mountain. 

The  walking  at  first  was  comparatively  smooth  and  easy, 
though  in  many  places  the  luxuriance  of  the  vegetation  seri 
ously  retarded  our  progress ;  but  gradually,  as  we  advanced, 
the  ground  became  more  uneven,  our  path  was  often  crossed 
by  deep  and  precipitous  ravines,  or  blocked  up  by  huge 


VISIT    TO    THE   VOLCANO.  259 

masses  of  partially  decomposed  lava  and  other  volcanic  mat 
ter,  which  marred  the  beauty  of  the  landscape,  but  which 
nature  was  now  doing  her  best  to  cover  and  adorn. 

The  appearance  of  the  forest  trees  also  was  imperceptibly 
but  constantly  changing.  At  almost  every  step  upward  we 
seemed  to  lose  one  of  those  belonging  to  the  tropics,  while, 
at  the  same  time,  some  production  of  the  temperate  zone,  sup 
plied  its  place.  I  recognized  with  delight  some  trees  that  I 
had  known  at  home.  They  seemed  to  me  like  some  old 
familiar  friends. 

We  stopped  at  noon  by  the  side  of  a  brawling  brook ;  many 
of  which,  fed  by  eternal  springs,  came  foaming  down  the 
mountain  side,  as  if  hastening  to  convey  to  the  sultry  air  be 
low  something  of  the  purity  and  coolness  of  those  upper 
regions  where  they  had  their  birth. 

Here  we  lingered  many  hours,  gloating,  like  a  miser  over 
his  gold,  over  the  sight  of  our  rich  and  fair  possessions,  nearly 
the  whole  of  which  now  lay  spread  out  before  us,  and  sunning 
our  souls  in  the  constant  sparkle  of  the  summer  sea  that 
lovingly  girt  us  round.  We  went  only  a  little  further  that 
night,  and  then  encamped  near  the  bank  of  the  same  stream, 
where  we  found  a  place  of  shelter,  as  safe  and  commodious  as 
could  be  desired. 

In  some  former  eruption  of  the  volcano  the  lava  had  cooled 
round  the  trunk  of  a  prostrate  tree,  which,  afterwards,  decay 
ing,  or  consumed  perhaps  by  the  intense  heat,  had  thus  left 
a  solid  arch  of  stone,  dark  and  unsightly,  and  painfully  sug 
gestive  of  the  blackened  ruins  of  a  human  dwelling.  One 
end  of  this  arch  was  partially  closed  by  the  masses  of  lava, 
leaving  only  a  narrow  opening  near  the  top ;  but  the  other 
was  still  open.  We  had  at  first  intended  to  pass  the  night 
in  the  open  air ;  but  the  loneliness  of  the  spot,  and  the  fear 


260  THE   NEW    AGE   OF   GOLD. 

of  wild  beasts,  whose  cries,  echoing  among  the  mountains, 
seemed  already  to  encircle  us,  very  soon  suggested  that  we 
should  be  doing  much  better  to  take  advantage  of  this  natural 
fortification. 

Alice  and  I  entered  first,  and  Hamlet,  following,  stationed 
himself  just  within  the  opening,  where  his  formidable  talons 
and  threatening  aspect  might  well  make  any  enemy  think 
twice  before  venturing  to  come  within  his  reach.  The  event 
fully  justified  these  precautions. 

The  first  part  of  the  night  passed  without  any  alarm.  But 
towards  morning  a  low  growl  from  the  bear  gave  us  warning 
that  some  enemy  was  approaching.  Starting  up  from  a 
sound  sleep,  I  forgot  for  a  moment  where  I  was,  till,  bumping 
my  head  violently  against  the  top  of  the  arch,  all  the  circum 
stances  of  our  situation  were  thus  brought  at  once  to  my 
recollection. 

The  involuntary  cry  of  pain  that  escaped  me  at  this  acci 
dent  awakened  Alice,  who,  sitting  up,  eagerly  demanded  what 
was  the  matter.  This  I  could  not  immediately  answer ;  but, 
as  the  bear  still  continued  uneasy,  I  was  satisfied  that  some 
thing  was  going  wrong,  and,  groping  my  way  cautiously  to 
the  narrow  opening  already  mentioned,  I  endeavored  to  dis 
cover  the  cause  of  his  disturbance. 

For  a  long  time  I  could  see  nothing.  The  night  was 
beautifully  still  and  peaceful ;  the  starry  heavens  themselves 
seemed  hardly  more  serene  than  the  little  island  they  looked 
down  upon.  The  dark  masses  of  lava,  which  the  tree  envel 
oped  in  a  yet  deeper  shadow,  were  the  only  objects  that 
suggested  danger. 

But  suddenly,  on  the  further  side  of  the  brook,  appeared  an 
ugly  and  ill-omened  shape,  high -backed,  long-limbed  and  with 
eyes  that  glowed  like  burning  coals.  While  I  looked  it  was 


UNSEASONABLE    VISITORS.  261 

joined  by  another,  and  another,  till  I  counted  no  less  than 
seven,  huddled  close  together  on  the  bank.  They  seemed  to 
be  consulting  as  to  what  they  had  better  do.  The  first  who 
made  his  appearance,  and  who  also  seemed  to  be  the  orator, 
was  evidently  communicating  the  result  of  his  observations 
to  his  less  experienced  companions.  From  time  to  time  he 
glanced  towards  our  place  of  refuge,  as  if  to  give  greater 
meaning  to  his  words  ;  and  from  this  it  was  easy  to  see  that 
we  ourselves  formed  the  subject  of  his  discourse. 

What  could  they  want  of  us  ?  Had  they  just  heard  of 
our  arrival  in  those  parts,  and  at  once  hastened  to  pay  their 
respects?  Had  they  come  to  give  us  a  serenade,  or  to  ask 
us  to  dinner,  or  to  invite  us  to  become  their  guests  as  long 
as  we  remained  in  that  neighborhood  ? 

It  was  barely  possible,  but  I  did  not. believe  it.  Indeed,  I 
had  my  suspicions  that  this  unexpected  visit  was  owing  to  an 
entirely  selfish  motive.  I  might  be  mistaken,  but  if  I  had 
been  asked  my  opinion,  I  should  have  said,  decidedly,  that 
they  wanted  to  eat  us.  I  understood  their  lingo  to  be  sure 
very  imperfectly,  but,  so  far  as  I  could  make  it  out,  they 
seemed  to  think  it  very  mean  in  us  not  to  come  out  of  our 
hiding-place,  and  allow  them  that  slight  gratification,  without 
making  any  difficulty.  It  would  save  both  them  and  us  so 
much  trouble ;  and,  as  for  the  manner  of  the  feast,  we  need 
have  no  fears  but  that  it  would  be  arranged  in  the  highest 
style  of  the  art. 

"  Not  so  fast,  my  fine  fellows,"  I  cried ;  "  we  may  be  your 
oyster,  but  you  must  open  us  first  before  you  can  eat  us ; 
unless,  indeed,  you  choose  to  take  shell  and  all,  and  that,  I 
suspect,  would  be  rather  too  much  for  your  digestion. 
Courage  !  Hamlet,  uiy  boy  !  don't  let  them  frighten  or  cajole 
you  out  of  your  hole ;  but  stay  where  you  are ;  and  if  any 


262  THE    NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 

one  inquires  for  me,  tell  him  that  I  don't  see  company  at  this 
hour." 

13  y  this  time  the  ugly-looking  rascals  had  descended  the 
bank,  and,  crossing  the  brook  in  single  file  on  some  stepping- 
stones  that  happened  to  be  there,  they  again  stopped  a 
moment,  as  if  to  reconnoitre,  not  more  than  twenty  paces 
from  where  I  was  lurking. 

Then,  if  I  had  only  had  a  double-barrelled  gun,  I  should  have 
liked  nothing  better  than  to  let  fly  among  them  with  a  heavy 
charge  of  buck-shot,  when  I  should  have  been  sure  of  killing 
or  wounding  nearly  all  of  them  ;  but,  as  I  had  only  a  bow, 
and  no  room  to  bend  even  that,  I  was  forced  to  lie  still  and 
listen  to  their  villanous  conversation,  without  the  power  of 
making  any  reply.  They  seemed  to  be  saying  what  part  they 
liked  best.  One  thought  he  should  prefer  a  leg;  another 
decided  in  favor  of  an  arm;  while  the  third,  who  had 
very  much  the  air  of  an  epicure,  declared  that  the  rest  might 
take  their  choice,  but  he  should  be  contented  with  the  hands 
and  feet.  All  the  while  they  kept  smacking  their  lips  and 
snuffing  up  the  air  at  a  great  rate.  They  had  evidently  never 
read  Mrs.  Glass'  famous  recipe  for  cooking  the  hare. 

They  were  now  too  hungry  to  wait  any  longer,  and  all  at 
once,  as  if  on  a  given  signal,  they  bounded  forward  towards 
the  entrance  of  our  hiding-place,  each  striving  to  get  there 
before  the  others.  Seeing  this,  I  also  left  my  position,  and 
drew  close  to  the  bear,  that  I  might  encourage  him  by  my 
presence  ;  for  the  arch  was  so  narrow  that  there  was  not  room 
enough  for  both  of  us  to  face  the  enemy  at  once. 

The  first  that  poked  his  head  into  the  door  did  not  stop 
long  enough  to  ask  even  a  single  question.  Then  the  second 
tried  it,  but  he  too  was  in  a  great  hurry,  and  only  stayed  to 
ask  how  we  all  were  ;  to  which  Hamlet  replied  by  a  box  on 


DISCOMFITURE   OF  THE   HYENAS.  263 

the  ear  that  must  have  made  him  hard  of  hearing  all  the  rest 
of  his  days.  So  the  whole  seven  put  their  heads  in,  one  after 
another  ;  but  none  of  them  liked  the  looks,  and  in  spite  of 
Hamlet's  pressing  invitation  they  would  not  venture  any 
further.  His  presence  evidently  took  them  entirely  by  sur 
prise. 

"  Who  'd  any  idea  that  he  was  there  ?  "  cried  one,  or  so  I 
pleased  myself  with  fancying ;  and  "  I  know  it,"  chimed  in 
another ;  "  I  did  n't  suppose  we  should  have  had  any  trouble, 
but  unless  we  can  find  some  way  to  coax  him  out  of  his  hole, 
we  may  as  well  give  up  the  whole  thing." 

"  But  who  is  it  ?  Where  did  he  come  from  ?  "  cried  two 
or  three  in  chorus. 

"  I  don't  know  anything  about  that ;  all  I  know  is  that 
Friar  Tuck  himself  never  got  such  a  box  on  the  ear  as  he  just 
gave  me  ;  and  for  my  part  I  think  the  best  thing  we  can  do 
is  to  let  him  alone." 

"  It  will  never  do  to  give  it  up  so,"  said  the  leader;  "  one 
of  us  must  go  in  and  pull  him  out." 

"  Yes,  but  which  of  us  shall  it  be  ?  "  cried  all  the  others. 
'"  Who  will  bell  the  cat  ?  " 

"  I  will,"  returned  the  heroic  champion ;  and  without  more 
ado  he  rushed  into  the  mouth  of  the  arch  to  grapple  with  the 
bear.  But,  as  soon  as  he  came  within  reach,  Hamlet  clapped 
his  paws  one  on  each  ear,  and,  forcing  his  head  against  the 
ground,  held  him  fast  in  that  disagreeable  position,  where  he 
kept  him  till  morning,  unable  to  stir  hand  or  foot,  and  crying 
lustily  for  quarter  all  the  while. 

But,  as  to  his  valorous  followers,  they  no  sooner  saw  the 
fate  that  had  befallen  their  unhappy  leader,  than,  without 
stopping  a  moment  to  see  what  they  could  do  to  help  him, 


264  THE   NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

they  all  turned  tail,  and  scampered  for  dear  life  into  the 
forest. 

The  whole  thing  was  over  so  suddenly,  and  had  such  a 
ridiculous  termination,  that  I  could  not  help  laughing  ;  though 
in  truth  it  was  no  laughing  matter,  and,  if  it  had  not  been  for 
the  bear,  we  should  have  laughed,  as  the  saying  is,  out  of 
the  wrong  side  of  our  mouths.  As  might  be  supposed,  it  was 
very  little  sleep  that  we  got  during  the  rest  of  the  night. 
But,  when  it  came  morning,  and  we  could  see  about  a  little,  I 
spoke  to  Hamlet  to  release  his  enemy,  supposing,  of  course, 
that  if  he  had  any  sense  of  honor  about  him,  he  would  never 
think  of  leaving  until  he  had  obtained  satisfaction  for  the 
affront  so  publicly  put  upon  him.  No  sooner,  however,  did 
he  find  himself  at  liberty  than  he  made  off  as  fast  as  his  legs 
could  carry  him,  without  stopping  even  to  make  any  reply  to 
the  jeers  and  taunts  with  which  we  hailed  his  unceremonious 
departure. 

"  Well  !  "  cried  I,  stretching  myself  to  my  full  height,  for 
I  was  cramped  with  being  so  long  in  such  narrow  quarters, 
"  he  is  not  the  first  that  has  gone  out  for  wool,  and  come  home 
shorn  !  eh,  Hamlet  ?  " 

Harnlet  made  no  answer,  but  a  sly  twinkle  in  his  eye 
showed  that  he  relished  the  jest  as  keenly  as  any  one. 

And  so  ended  our  first  and  last  adventure  with  the  hyena  ; 
an  ugly  brute,  and  one  that  I  had  learned  to  fear  in  child 
hood,  but  which,  in  this  instance  at  least,  manifested  but  little 
of  that  determined  ferocity  I  had  hitherto  ascribed  to  him. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

Ascending  the  Mountain.  — I  am  obliged  to  reason  with  Hauilet.  —  The 
Summit.  —  Descent  into  the  Crater.  —  Hamlet's  Agility.  — Our  Quar 
rel;  his  Magnanimity.  — Night  in  the  Crater.  —  My  fearful  Dream. — 
Its  still  more  fearful  Fulfilment.  —  The  Eruption.  —  Our  hasty  Flight. 
—  Our  narrow  Escape.  —  Hamlet  saves  our  Lives  for  the  fifth  Time. 

IT  was  still  early  in  the  morning  when  we  again  addressed 
ourselves  to  ascend  the  mountain.  There  was  little  at  first 
to  distinguish  the  scenery  from  that  we  had  passed  through 
the  day  before,  but  the  forest  by  degrees  became  less  crowded, 
the  trees  were  smaller  and  further  apart,  till  at  last  we  left 
all  traces  of  vegetation  behind  us,  and  came  out  on  the  bare 
cone  of  the  volcano. 

The  surface  was  composed  for  the  most  part  of  ashes 
largely  intermixed  with  stones  and  scoriae.  The  action  of 
the  weather  had  gradually  covered  this  with  a  thin  crust,  in 
some  places  sufficiently  firm,  to  bear  our  weight ;  but,  gen 
erally  we  sank  into  it  above  the  ankle,  which  made  our  prog 
ress  exceedingly  slow  and  toilsome.  The  bear  with  his  big 
feet  would  have  made  out  far  better  than  either  Alice  or  I, 
if  he  had  not  been  obliged  to  stop  so  often  in  order  to  sneeze ; 
but  he  was  so  disgusted  at  this  that  several  times  I  thought 
he  was  on  the  point  of  turning  back  and  leaving  us  to  prose 
cute  the  enterprise  alone ;  and,  in  fact,  I  really  believe  he 
23 


266  TUB   NEW   AGE   OF    GOLD. 

would  have  done  so,  if  I  had  not  reminded  him,  again  and 
a^ain,  of  the  glory  and  distinction  he  would  obtain  by 
persevering  until  he  had  reached  the  summit,  and  of  the 
satisfaction  he  would  derive  in  after  years  from  relating 
his  perilous  and  remarkable  adventures. 

I  reminded  him  too  of  his  early  habits,  and  asked  him  if 
he  thought  it  would  become  one  who  was  born  and  bred 
among  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  shrink  now  before  such  a 
trifling  elevation. 

After  this  he  gave  us  no  further  trouble,  and  we  went  on 
pleasantly  together  till  we  gained  the  summit,  and  stood  in 
our  fitting  place,  in  statuesque  relief,  high  drawn  against  the 
sky,  with  nothing  to  obstruct  our  view  on  either  side. 

I  had  of  course  no  means  of  arriving  at  any  positive  result ; 
but,  by  comparing  it  with  Mount  Washington,  which  I  had 
once  ascended  in  the  same  way*  I  judged  that  this  mountain 
was  not  far  from  six  thousand  feet  in  height.  It  was  the 
only  peak  of  any  consequence  in  the  whole  island,  and  the 
prospect  we  obtained  from  its  summit  was  grand  and  imposing 
beyond  description. 

Directly  beneath  us  spread  a  sea  of  living  green,  with 
gently  rolling  billows  that  seemed  almost  to  kiss  our  feet. 
Beyond,  in  lively  contrast,  a  second  sea  of  deepest  blue, 
whose  rival  waves  came  crowding  close  as  they  could  get  on 
every  side.  The  circling  tides,  rejoicing  in  their  gaudy 
liveries,  as  on  the  gala-day  of  some  indulgent  prince,  pre 
sented  to  our  sovereign  eyes  a  ring  of  emerald,  whose  costly 
setting  in  its  varying  splendor  of  beryl,  diamond,  or  chryso 
lite,  still  left  the  mind  in  pleasing  doubt  as  to  which  of  all 
the  three  a  fastidious  fancy  would  prefer. 

But  high  above  all  this  the  mountain  reared  its  grim  and 
terrible  front  in  awful  majesty.  Its  nature,  fiery  and  sudden, 


THE  MOUNTAIN'S  SUMMIT.  267 

like  its  birth,  was  ineffaceably  stamped  on  every  rugged  feat 
ure.  No  rounded  lines  were  there,  such  as  the  soft  tinkers 
of  the  waters  have  traced  on  our  New  England  hills,  no  gently- 
rising  slopes,  but  cloud-shaped  crags  instead,  precipices  that 
overhung  their  base,  an  avalanche  of  Alps  suddenly  arrested 
in  mid  career.  Ages  on  ages  had  since  passed  away,  yet  \ve 
still  seemed  to  feel  beneath  our  feet  a  tremulous  jar,  as  if  the 
nerves  of  poor  old  mother  earth,  though  of  adamant  and  iron, 
had  not  yet  ceased  to  quiver  from  that  tremendous  birth. 

I  love  that  tropic  land,  which  under  its  soft,  luxurious  exte 
rior  still  holds  its  pTissionate,  fiery  heart. 

But,  after  all,  it  is  not  what  we  see  at  such  times,  but  what 
we  imagine,  that  lends  such  powerful  meaning  to  the  wild  and 
desolate  places  of  God's  earth.  There  even  the  dullest  imagi 
nation  seems  borne,  as  on  wings  of  fire,  above  and  beyond  the 
narrow  circles  of  time  and  space.  But  to  one  of  quick  and 
lively  working  fancies,  and  especially  to  one  who  is  weary 
and  disgusted  with  the  world,  and  fond  of  those  retired  haunts, 
where  he  can  give  himself  up  without  distraction  to  the  pro- 
foundest  joys  of  melancholy,  I  know  of  no  place  that  can  bo 
compared  to  the  summit  of  a  volcanic  mountain. 

The  sea  and  the  desert  has  each  its  own  sublimity;  but 
man's  works  are  on  the  sea ;  and  the  desert,  though  it  has 
the  loneliness  and  desolation,  and,  in  its  effect  upon  the  imagi 
nation,  perhaps  even  the  vastness  of  mountain  scenery,  has 
but  little  of  that  feeling  of  exaltation  and  buoyancy  which 
the  latter  communicates. 

It  is  the  land  of  the  ostrich,  and  not  of  the  eagle.  From 
the  mountain's  top  the  soul  feels  as  if  it  could  take  flio-ht  to 
heaven.  It  swells  and  grows,  as  if  it  would  fill  the  mighty 
void  with  its  own  immensity.  If  all  the  countless  worlds 


THE    NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 


around  were  at  once  blotted  from  existence,  it  could  replace 
them  all  from  its  own  essence,  and  not  feel  the  loss. 

We  were  greater  than  all  we  saw.  No  mean  or  sordid  or 
grovelling  thought  can  breathe  that  purer  atmosphere,  —  no 
anxious  cares,  no  fretful,  pining  discontent.  The  eye  sees  as 
though  it  saw  not ;  no  sound  falls  upon  the  ear  ;  feeling  takes 
the  place  of  sense ;  but,  at  last,  exhausted  by  its  own  intensity, 
the  overwrought  soul  is  compelled  to  turn  earthward  for  relief. 

So  Alice  and  I,  when  we  could  dream  no  longer,  aroused 
ourselves  once  more  to  the  contemplation  of  the  wonders  about 
us. 

The  crater,  into  which  we  now  proposed  to  descend,  was 
about  an  eighth  of  a  mile  in  width,  in  its  general  shape 
approaching  a  circle,  but  extremely  irregular  in  its  outline, 
and  its  whole  aspect  in  the  highest  degree  gloomy  and  forbid 
ding.  There  was  no  trace  of  vegetation,  so  far  as  I  could 
discover,  in  any  part  of  it.  Near  the  bottom  a  thin  smoke  or 
vapor  circled  lazily  upward,  but  was  entirely  lost  before  it 
reached  half  way  up  the  sides. 

If  the  ascent  had  been  difficult,  the  descent  into  the  crater 
was  tremendous.  Every  step  was  a  journey,  and  only  to  be 
taken  after  long  forethought  and  circumspection  ;  for,  in  going 
down,  it  was  also  necessary  to  consider  how  we  could  get  up. 
We  should  have  turned  back  a  hundred  times,  but,  after  under 
going  so  much,  it  seemed  a  pity  to  have  taken  all  that  labor 
for  nothing. 

But  what  amazed  me  more  than  all  the  rest  was,  to  see  the 
agility  displayed  by  the  bear.  I  had  hitherto  supposed  him 
to  be  a  very  clumsy  animal ;  and,  indeed,  if  1  had  not  beheld 
it  with  my  own  eyes,  I  should  never  have  believed  him  capa 
ble  of  such  feats  as  I  now  witnessed.  He  went  up  and  down 
places  where  I  should  never  have  dared  to  follow,  —  places 


HAMLET'S  AGILITY.  269 

where  it  seemed  impossible  for  anything  but  a  goat  or  a  mon 
key  to  go  in  safety. 

I  thought  sometimes  that  he  did  this  by  way  of  bravado,  as 
much  as  anything  else ;  for,  notwithstanding  his  many  noble 
and  excellent  qualities,  he  was  not  entirely  free  from  the 
charge  of  vanity  ;  and,  if  so,  it  was  but  natural  to  suppose 
that,  like  all  the  rest  of  the  world,  he  would  be  more  likely 
to  betray  it  in  some  such  trifle,  than  in  anything  where  he 
really  had  reason  to  pride  himself. 

Dr.  Johnson,  I  remembered,  had  a  precisely  similar  weak- 
ness>  I  accordingly  remonstrated  with  Hamlet  again  and 
again  for  being  so  foolhardy,  telling  him  that  he  would  certainly 
break  his  neck  some  day,  if  he  wasn't  more  careful,  and  that 
then  he  would  be  sorry  he  had  n't  followed  my  advice ;  but  it 
did  no  sort  of  good ;  he  would  still  have  his  own  way,  and 
went  rolling  and  scrambling  down  the  mountain  as  hard  as 
ever.  At  first,  after  going  some  distance  ahead,  he  would  wait 
for  us  to  come  up  ;  but,  presently,  becoming  tired  of  our  slug 
gish  movements,  or  wishing  to  be  the  first  at  the  bottom,  he 
pushed  on  without  stopping,  and  we  saw  no  more  of  him  for 
several  hours. 

When,  however,  we  reached  the  bottom,  or  as  near  as  it 
was  safe  to  venture,  we  found  him  stretched  out  at  his  ease  on 
a  bed  of  warm  ashes,  very  complacently  surveying  the  scene 
about  him,  and  with  a  lurking  air  of  triumph  in  his  little 
twinkling  eyes,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  Well,  you  've  got  along 
at  last,  have  n't  you  ?  I  've  been  here  these  two  hours." 

We  neither  of  us  made  him  any  answer,  or  took  any  notice 
of  him  whatever,  for  we  were  a  little  inclined  to  be  vexed 
about  it ;  so,  sitting  down  on  one  side,  we  stared  with  all  our 
might  at  the  half-burnt  rocks,  trying  all  the  while  to  look  as 
unconcerned  as  possible,  —  though  we  could  not  help  feeling  a 
23* 


270  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

little  awkward  and  embarrassed  —  for  a  quarrel,  in  such  a  place, 
of  all  others,  is  a  very  disagreeable  affair.  I  do  not  know 
how  long  this  would  have  lasted,  —  for  I  am  a  very  poor  hand 
at  making  up,  and  Alice,  too,  had  some  Scotch  blood  in  her 
veins,  —  but  Hamlet,  who,  whatever  might  be  his  other  faults, 
had  not  a  particle  of  that  ignobility  about  him,  presently  dis 
covering  how  matters  stood,  came  and  thrust  his  great  rough 
head  directly  in  my  face,  with  such  a  straightforward  sincerity 
of  expression  and  so  good-humored  withal,  that  there  was  no 
possibility  of  withstanding  it ;  and  so  the  whole  difficulty  was 
settled  at  once,  without  any  more  ado,  and  we  were  all  as  good 
friends  as  ever. 

We  now  surveyed  the  scene  with  more  attention.  The 
place  where  we  stood  was,  as  near  as  I  could  judge,  about  five 
hundred  feet  from  the  bottom  of  the  crater. 

The  precipitous  walls  on  every  side,  entirely  bare  of  vege 
tation,  blackened  and  glazed  by  fire,  — the  thick  and  sulphurous 
vapor  that  hung  about  the  bottom,  and  ebbed  and  flowed 
lazily  at  our  feet,  —  and  the  total  absence  of  everything  that 
looked  like  life,  made  up  altogether  the  dreariest  and  most 
portentous  region  my  eyes  had  ever  seen. 

The  approach  of  evening  only  made  it  still  more  appalling. 

"  Come,  let  us  go  !  "  said  Alice,  pulling  me  by  the  arm  ; 
"  it  will  be  dark  directly,  and  we  shall  have  to  spend  the  night 
in  this  dreadful  place." 

I  gladly  yielded  to  her  request,  for  my  imagination  already 
swarmed  with  dismal  fancies ;  and,  without  losing  a  moment, 
we  began  the  ascent.  But  it  was  later  than  we  thought ;  the 
way  was  long  and  toilsome,  and  very  soon  it  became  apparent 
that,  with  all  our  exertions,  we  could  not  gain  the  summit  that 
evening. 

The  idea  of  sleeping  in  the  mouth  of  a  volcano,  even  though 


A  DREAM,  AND  THE  KEALITY.  271 

that  mouth  was  open,  was  anything  but  agreeable ;  but  there 
was  now  no  help  for  it,  and  we  prepared  to  make  ourselves  as 
comfortable  as  circumstances  would  admit.  After  hesitating 
a  moment  between  stones  and  ashes,  we  finally  chose  the  for 
mer,  as  being  much  cleaner  than  the  other ;  and,  though  it 
must  be  confessed  that  our  bed  was  none  of  the  softest,  yet 
we  were  by  this  time  too  well  used  to  that  mode  of  life,  to 
think  of  uttering  a  word  of  complaint. 

We  ate  our  supper  of  dried  figs  and  cocoanuts,  with  abun 
dant  relish,  but  for  drink  we  had  nothing  but  a  single  gourd 
of  water ;  for,  when  we  left  home,  we  had  no  expectation  of 
remaining  over  night  in  the  crater,  and  had  not,  therefore, 
thought  it  necessary  to  bring  a  larger  supply. 

The  poor  bear  suffered  extremely  from  thirst,  nor  was  I 
much  better  off;  but  I  was  glad  to  see  that  Alice  was  far  less 
disturbed  by  this  privation. 

At  last,  however,  I  slept  and  dreamed.  I  dreamed  that  I 
was  in  the  upper  story%of  the  Astor  House,  in  New  York,— 
that  I  was  surrounded  on  every  side  by  a  terrible  conflagra 
tion, —that  I  could  see  its  glare  through  my  windows,  and 
on  the  snow-covered  roofs  of  the  adjacent  houses.  In  the 
room  next  to  mine  I  heard  a  woman's  voice,  that  cried 
piercingly  for  help.  I  dashed  open  the  door,  I  caught  her  in 
my  arms,  and  through  the  blinding  smoke,  over  the  burning 
floors,  down  the  falling  stairs,  I  bore  her  triumphantly  into 
the  open  air.  I  looked  to  see  who  it  was  that  I  had  saved, 
and  found  that  it  was  Alice. 

At  that  moment  I  waked  from  my  dream  to  find  it  a  reality. 
The  rocks,  that,  when  I  last  saw  them,  were  turning  from  gray 
to  black  under  the  shadows  of  evening,  were  now  lit  up  with 
a  ruddy,  fiery  glare. 

Far  beneath,  a  sea  of  fire  tossed   and   boiled   like  some 


272  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

mighty  caldron.  The  surface  was  dull  red,  but  spirts  of 
white,  hot  lava  were  continually  rising  above  it,  which,  turning 
dark  by  exposure  to  the  cooler  air,  fell  back  again  heavily 
and  with  a  muffled  splash  into  the  molten  lake.  Occasionally 
a  mass,  much  larger  than  ordinary,  would  shoot  upward  to  a 
'great  height,  and  then,  bursting  with  a  prodigious  noise,  scat 
ter  its  fragments  upon  every  side. 

The  midnight  darkness  of  the  sky  contrasted  strangely  with 
the  burning  sea  below.  The  sight  was  terrible,  yet  beautiful 
beyond  description. 

Notwithstanding  the  danger  we  ran  of  being  suffocated  by 
those  pestilent  fumes,  or  scorched  by  the  showers  of  burning 
lava,  a  mysterious  fascination  held  us  fast  to  the  spot. 

The  position  which  we  occupied  was  eminently  favorable  for 
obtaining  a  full  and  satisfactory  view  of  the  whole  extraordi 
nary  spectacle.  We  stood  upon  a  projecting  crag,  from  five 
hundred  to  a  thousand  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  lava, 
upon  which  we  looked  down  at  an  angle  of  nearly  forty-five 
degrees.  The  opposite  walls  of  that  vast  amphitheatre,  with 
their  innumerable  peaks  and  hollows,  stood  out  in  strange  and 
terrible  distinctness.  As  the  flickering  flames  rose  and  fell, 
the  solid  mountain  itself  seemed  to  waver  to  and  fro ;  then, 
a  sudden  wreath  of  smoke  would  shut  everything  from  our 
view. 

But  now  the  lava,  which  had  hitherto  remained  stationary 
at  nearly  the  same  level,  began  to  rise  with  fearful  rapidity. 

As  when  —  to  compare  great  things  with  small  —  a  group 
of  children  in  a  farmer's  kitchen  gather  round  a  boiling  kettle 
of  syrup  or  molasses,  and  suddenly  the  bubbling  mass  begins 
to  swell,  threatening  the  destruction  of  their  hopes,  and  one 
cries,  "  Take  off  the  kettle ! "  and  another,  "  Put  out  the 


PERILOUS   SITUATION.  273 

fire ! "  so,  but  with  yet  greater  fear  and  consternation,  did 
Alice  and  I  behold  the  rising  of  that  fiery  flood. 

To  put  out  the  fire  or  take  off  the  kettle  was  equally  be 
yond  our  power,  and  our  only  safety  was  in  flight.  But,  fast 
as  we  fled,  the  fire  followed  faster.  As  often  as  I  paused,  to 
recover  my  fatigue,  and  cast  a  breathless  glance  behind  me,  I 
saw  it  gaining  on  us. 

We  redoubled  our  exertions,  —  we  leaped  from  one  dizzy 
point  to  another,  —  we  surmounted  obstacles  that  in  our 
cooler  moments  would  have  seemed  invincible ;  but  still  the 
fire  came  on,  not  boastfully,  not  apparently  in  any  hurry,  but 
slowly,  surely,  certain  of  its  prey. 

There  was  something  indescribably  appalling  in  this  cool, 
deliberate  advance,  like  the  forward  march  of  a  great  army, 
that,  even  in  the  excitement  of  the  charge,  scorns  to  break  its 
ranks. 

At  length,  completely  exhausted,  we  sat  down  upon  a  broad 
flat  rock,  the  situation  of  which  rendered  all  further  flight 
impossible.  Before  us  rose  a  lofty  precipice,  while  the  path 
behind  us  was  already  seized  by  the  pursuing  foe.  A  single 
glance  was  enough  to  show  that  our  fate  was  sealed. 

Already  we  felt  the  scorching  heat  upon  our  faces.  The 
fire  had  planted  its  fore  feet  upon  the  lower  part  of  the  rock. 
Slmdderingly  we  closed  our  eyes,  and,  clasped  in  each  other's 
arms,  awaited  the  final  plunge. 

We  waited,  but  it  did  not  come.  Once  more  I  opened  my 
eyes  and  looked  around  me  to  discover  the  explanation  of  this 
unexpected  respite.  At  first  I  thought  the  lava  had  ceased  to 
rise,  but  the  next  moment  I  saw  by  the  walls  of  the  crater 
that  its  progress  was  still  upward. 

Why,  then,  were  we  not  submerged  ?  We  were  rising  with 
it !  The  immense  fragment  of  rock  on  which  we  rested  was 


274  THE    NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 

of  a  spongy,  porous  nature,  and  floated  on  the  surface  of  the 
lava  like  a  cannon-ball  in  a  mass  of  quicksilver.  It  had 
already  risen  half  way  up  the  precipice,  and  in  another 
moment  we  might  step  from  it  upon  solid  land. 

A  gleam  of  hope  lighted  up  my  soul  at  this  discovery.  But 
it  was  as  suddenly  dissipated.  The  lava  had  ceased  to  flow. 
What  a  short  time  before  would  have  been  our  safety,  was 
now  our  ruin.  Before  that  intense  heat  the  large  rock  was 
melting  like  a  lump  of  ice  in  boiling  water.  Our  fate  had 
only  been  deferred  to  protract  the  period  of  our  suffering. 
Alice,  no  longer  able  to  breathe  that  hot  and  stifling  air,  was 
now  happily  insensible.  I  had  not  even  the  aid  of  her  sym 
pathy.  But  I  was  glad  for  her  sake.  To  her  the  horrors  of 
death  were  already  passed. 

The  lava  rose  a  little  more.  The  rock  tottered,  and  swayed 
this  way  and  that,  and  seemed  every  moment  to  sink  beneath 
us.  I  made  a  desperate  effort  to  gain  the  edge  of  the  preci 
pice,  but  it  was  just  beyond  my  reach. 

All  this  time  Hamlet  had  been  watching  our  situation  with 
the  most  evident  concern.  He  had  taken  a  different  path 
from  that  which  we  had  followed,  and  had  thus  got  beyond 
the  reach  of  danger.  Instead,  however,  of  continuing  his 
flight  up  the  mountain,  he  had  returned,  as  if  to  see  whether 
he  could  render  us  any  assistance.  He  witnessed  my  last  in 
effectual  effort  with  a  howl  of  despair ;  but  then,  as  if  a  new 
thought  had  just  occurred  to  him,  he  flung  himself  down  the 
precipice,  and  stood  the  next  moment  by  my  side. 

Then  standing  upon  his  hind  legs,  with  his  fore  feet  braced 
firmly  against  the  solid  rock,  he  seemed  to  invite  me  thus  to 
make  my  escape.  I  lost  not  a  moment  in  taking  advantage 
of  his  friendly  aid. 

With  a  sudden  and  desperate  effort  I  caught  Alice  in  my 


SAVED    AGAIN    BY    HAMLET.  275 

arms,  and,  mounting  upon  his  shoulders,  succeeded  in  placing 
her  safely  upon  the  rocks  above.  The  bear,  relieved  from  my 
weight,  sprang  lightly  after  us,  and  at  the  same  instant  the 
rock  on  which  we  had  been  standing  settled  rapidly  to  one 
side,  and  then,  with  a  sullen  surge,  sank  beneath  the  surface. 

All  this  had  happened  in  less  time  than  it  has  taken  to  read 
these  lines  ;  but  whole  hours  of  thought  and  suffering  seemed 
condensed  into  those  brief  moments. 

The  reliction  was  too  great  for  my  spirits,  and  I  fell  pros 
trate  and  insensible  by  the  side  of  Alice.  j 

When  I  recovered  my  consciousness  the  morning  was  just 
beginning  to  dawn.  The  volcano,  as  if,  like  beasts  of  prey,  it  was 
most  dangerous  at  night,  was  now  muttering  in  its  sleep.  The 
lava  had  sunk  again  into  its  subterranean  caverns,  and  noth 
ing  remained  to  show  that  such  fearful  convulsions  had  so 
recently  occurred,  except  the  heat  that  still  streamed  from  the 
rocks,  and  the  denser  smoke  that  whirled  and  eddied  below. 

We  now  first  perceived  the  full  extent  of  the  danger  from 
which  we  had  escaped.  Our  clothes  were  singed  and  shriv 
elled  with  the  intense  heat ;  the  hair  was  entirely  burnt  off  in 
many  places ;  and,  if  they  had  been  of  any  other  material,  I 
do  not  see  how  we  could  have  braved,  even  for  so  short  a 
time,  the  fury  of  the  devouring  element. 

But  when  Alice  heard  how  she  had  been  saved,  she  could 
not  find  words  to  express  her  gratitude.  She  threw  her  arms 
round  Hamlet's  shaggy  neck,  and  kissed  him  again  and  again, 
lavishing  upon  him  at  the  same  time  every  expression  of 
fondness  and  endearment ;  till,  at  last,  the  honest  fellow,  who 
evidently  could  not  endure  a  scene,  tore  himself,  as  I  thought, 
rather  rudely  from  her  embrace,  and  started  to  lead  the  way 
up  the  mountain,  with  an  air  as  much  as  to  say,  "  Well,  well, 


276  THE   NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 

that  will  do  !  What 's  the  use  of  making  such  a  fuss  about 
a  trifle  ?  I  think  we  'd  better  be  going  home." 

Alice  and  I  followed  more  slowly,  but  still  she  could 
talk  of  nothing  but  the  bear,  and  his  wonderful  sagacity. 

"  It  would  be  of  no  use,"  she  said,  "  for  us  to  tell  of  it,  for 
no  one  would  ever  believe  it." 

Now,  I  confess  that,  for  my  part,  I  could  see  nothing  in  his 
conduct  so  very  extraordinary.  But  then,  perhaps,  I  expected 
more  from  him  than  she  did.  I  had  seen  so  many  instances 
of  his  great  intelligence,  that  hardly  anything  could  now  sur 
prise  me.  But  lest  the  reader  should  incline  rather  to  side 
with  Alice,  or  even  to  doubt  the  story  altogether,  I  can  assure 
him  that  the  affair  happened  precisely  as  it  is  here  described ; 
and,  if  he  is  still  incredulous,  I  can  only  refer  him  to  those 
persons  who  have  made  Hamlet's  acquaintance  in  this  country ; 
any  one  of  whom,  I  am  sure,  would  be  ready  to  relate  circum 
stances  that  have  come  under  his  own  observation,  quite  as 
wonderful  as  any  mentioned  in  this  narrative. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

Continuance  of  the  Eruption.  — My  Manner  of  Accounting  for  this  Phe 
nomenon.  —  A  Fire.  —  Our  exceeding  Delight.  —  Our  first  Cookery.  — 
A  sumptuous  Dinner.  —  Buying  a  Kettle. 

FOR  more  than  a  week  after  the  events  just  related  the 
eruptions  of  the  volcano  continued.  An  immense  quantity 
of  ashes  was  ejected,  and  fell  in  frequent  showers  all  around 
us ;  but  the  lava  fortunately  took  an  opposite  direction.  It 
flowed  down  the  northern  side  of  the  mountain,  where  it 
formed  at  one  time  a  river  of  fire  several  miles  long,  and  in 
many  places  nearly  a  mile  in  width ;  till,  at  length,  emptying 
into  the  sea,  the  water  was  thereby  made  so  hot  that  a  great 
number  of  fish  were  killed,  and  I  used  to  see  their  dead  bodies 
for  months  afterwards  floating  along  the  shore. 

I  think,  however,  that  this  unusual  mortality  must  have 
been  owing  to  something  else  besides  the  heat ;  but  what  it 
was,  I  do  not  know. 

Nothing,  it  is  said,  happens  without  a  cause;  but  the 
reader,  I  dare  say,  will  wonder  when  he  hears  what  I  finally 
concluded  to  be  the  cause  of  this  tremendous  convulsion. 

It  was  neither  more  nor  less  than  to  furnish  us  with  a  fire ! 

The  grandeur  and  originality  of  this  idea  will  suggest  itself  to 

every  one.     I  had  no  matches,  and,  therefore,  made  use  of  a 

volcano.     This  style  of  doing  things  seemed  suited  to  my 

24 


278  THE   NEW    AGE   OF   GOLD. 

royal  dignity.  But  I  do  not  know  that  I  would  recommend  it 
for  general  adoption.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  it  might 
prove  both  expensive  and  inconvenient.  Volcanoes,  as  I 
know  from  experience,  are  hard  things  to  manage.  Then- 
temper  is  peculiarly  moody  and  uncertain,  and  it  is  impossible 
to  rely  upon  them  with  any  safety. 

But  in  the  present  instance  everything  worked  as  well  as  I 
could  wish.  I  filled  a  gourd  with  ashes,  and,  having  obtained 
a  few  coals  from  the  burning  forest,  I  carried  them  carefully 
home  ;  when  I  soon  had  a  blazing  fire  crackling  and  laughing 
before  my  door. 

This,  to  be  sure,  cost  me  a  long  journey ;  for  I  was  obliged 
to  go  quite  to  the  further  side  of  the  mountain;  but,  after  my 
fire  was  once  kindled,  I  was  very  careful  uot  to  let  it  go  out 
again,  and,  as  wood  was  plenty  and  easy  to  be  obtained,  I  had 
little  difficulty. 

The  pleasure  we  both  derived  from  the  sight  of  this  first  fire 
was  so  entirely  novel  and  peculiar  that  I  despair  of  being  able 
to  describe  it.  We  had  now  been  nearly  four  months  on  the 
island,  and  in  all  that  time  we  had  seen  nothing  of  the  kind, 
except  the  feeble  smoke  I  had  obtained  from  the  friction  of 
my  two  sticks,  and  the  sparks  struck  from  the  back  of  my 
knife. 

We  had  begun  seriously  to  doubt  whether  there  was  really 
any  such  thing.  It  seemed  to  us  almost  as  great  a  myth  as 
the  genii  of  the  Arabian  Nights. 

But  now  we  saw  it  with  our  own  eyes.  We  welcomed  it 
as  an  old  friend,  from  whom  we  had  been  long  estranged ; 
we  sat  down  by  it,  to  see  if  it  was  like  the  fire  we  used  to 
know ;  we  poked  it,  to  see  if  it  would  send  up  such  a  brave 
shower  of  sparks ;  we  put  our  fingers  into  it,  to  see  if  it  would 
burn ;  and,  when  we  found  that  it  would  do  all  these  things, 


OUR    FIRST   COOKERY.  279 

we  both  agreed  that  it  was  a  first-rate  fire,  and,  we  had  no 
doubt,  would  cook  as  well  as  any  fire  that  ever  was  made. 

But  what  should  we  cook  ?  Nothing  in  the  world,  it  seemed 
to  me,  would  taste  so  good  as  a  bit  of  bread ;  but,  as  I  knew 
no  way  of  getting  it,  the  next  best  thing,  I  thought,  would  be 
a  joint  of  meat.  Now,  of  meat  our  island  furnished  plenty  ; 
so  leaving  Alice  to  watch  the  fire,  for  fear  it  should  run  away 
in  our  absence,  I  took  my  bow  and  arrows,  and  proceeded  a 
short  distance  into  the  woods,  in  hopes  of  coming  across  some 
highly  favored,  or  perhaps  I  should  write  highly  flavored  ani 
mal,  who  should  have  the  honor  of  furnishing  our  first  dinner. 

There  was  an  animal  in  our  island  which  I  shall  call  a 
hare ;  *  though  it  was  not  a  hare  exactly,  for  its  tail  was 
nearly  as  long  as  its  whole  body,  and  it  had  the  power  of  climb 
ing  trees,  and  leaping  about  among  the  branches  as  nimbly  as 
a  squirrel.  This  made  it  very  hard  to  shoot,  as  it  was  hardly 
ever  at  rest ;  so  that  we  came  at  last  to  consider  it  quite  a 
trial  of  skill  to  bring  one  of  them  down. 


*  On  alluding  to  this,  after  my  return  home,  one  of  the  company  pres 
ent,  who  was  probably  not  very  well  versed  in  natural  history,  suggested 
that  the  animal  in  question  might  be  a  monkey  ;  another,  with  a  greater 
show  of  reason,  asked  if  it  were  not  an  opossum  ;  but  not  one  could  give 
me  any  satisfactory  information.  I  am  myself  inclined  to  believe  that  it 
must  belong  to  a  species  hitherto  unknown  to  naturalists  ;  but,  as  some 
may  think  that  they  have  met  with  it  before,  I  will  here  add  a  more  par 
ticular  description.  It  was,  as  I  have  said  already,  of  about  the  size  of 
a  hare,  and  had  a  head  very  much  resembling  it,  except  that  the  ears 
were  shorter.  The  hair  was  not  so  soft,  but  more  like  that  of  a  squirrel, 
gray  on  the  back  and  sides,  and  white  on  the  belly.  Its  tail  was  long  and 
bushy,  and  apparently  of  great  service  to  the  animal  in  enabling  it  to 
maintain  its  balance  on  the  smaller  branches.  It  was  also  furnished  with 
short  sharp  claws,  five  on  each  foot ;  and  had  two  large  cutting  teeth  in 
each  jaw.  As  far  as  I  could  discover,  its  food  consisted  chiefly  of  fruits 
and  nuts,  and  roots  which  it  dug  up  with  its  fore  pawa. 


280  THE   NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

On  the  present  occasion  I  was  obliged  to  pursue  my  game 
for  at  least  a  mile  before  I  obtained  a  chance  to  shoot ;  but 
then,  however,  I  was  lucky  enough  to  send  my  arrow  in  at  one 
ear  and  out  at  the  other,  though  the  limb  on  which  the  ani 
mal  had  perched  was  fully  a  hundred  feet  from  the  ground. 

Fully  satisfied  with  this  proof  of  my  dexterity  and  good 
fortune,  I  slung  the  hare  over  my  shoulder,  and  hastened 
back  to  our  camp,  where  I  found  Alice,  already  beginning  to 
feel  anxious  at  my  absence ;  though,  in  order  to  tease  her  a 
little,  I  pretended  to  believe  that  her  anxiety  arose  quite  as 
much  from  fear  of  losing  her  dinner  as  fear  of  losing  me. 

I  now  made  haste,  and  dressed  the  hare  as  nicely  as  I  knew 
how,  and  then  suspended  it  by  a  bit  of  hide  to  a  forked  stick 
thrust  firmly  into  the  ground  and  inclining  towards  the  fire. 
In  this  way,  by  giving  it  a  twist  now  and  then,  it  was  roasted 
as  evenly  as  it  would  have  been  on  the  most  scientific  jack 
that  was  ever  invented.  I  watched  it  with  great  interest,  and 
even  Alice  could  not  help  more  than  once  smacking  her  rosy 
lips  in  anticipation  of  the  approaching  feast ;  which  led  me  to 
exclaim,  "  Ah  !  I  see  you  are  not  yet  quite  an  angel,  after  all ; 
how  glad  I  am  !  " 

Alice  blushed  and  pouted,  but  soon  forgot  her  confusion 
when  I  informed  her  that  the  roast  was  done,  and  asked  her 
to  bring  a  dish  in  which  to  serve  it. 

"  Ah  !  "  she  cried,  "  how  unfortunate  !  I  ordered  that 
dish  yesterday,  but  they  have  n't  sent  it  home  yet ;  what  shall 
we  do  ?  There  is  n't  a  dish  in  the  house  half  large  enough." 

"  Never  mind,"  I  replied,  "  it  will  do  very  well  as  it  is ; 
only  hold  your  plate,  and  I  will  help  you  to  whatever  part  you 
prefer.  Will  you  have  it  rare  or  well  done  ?  " 

"  0,  well  done,  by  all  means,"  she  cried,  laughing;  though 
I  am  sure  there  was  nothing  to  laugh  at ;  but  the  fact  was, 


A    SU31PTUOUS    DINNER.  281 

we  both  felt  so  merry  that  we  did  nothing  but  laugh  all  the 
time  we  were  at  table. 

The  meat  was  perfectly  delicious.  I  do  not  mean  by  this 
that  there  was  anything  remarkable  about  the  flavor,  for,  prob 
ably,  any  meat  would  have  tasted  equally  well  after  we  had 
been  so  long  without  it.  I  had  found  a  little  salt  in  the  hollows 
of  the  rocks  on  the  sea-shore,  the  last  time  I  had  gone  to  carve 
poor  Bill's  epitaph ;  and  though  at  that  time  we  had  noth 
ing  to  eat  it  on,  yet  we  both  had  such  a  craving  for  it  that  I 
carried  home  all  I  could  find.  While  the  meat  was  roasting 
I  cut  off  several  slices  of  the  dried  gourd,  and  toasted  them 
nicely  on  the  coals.  It  formed  a  very  agreeable  addition  to 
our  bill  of  fare,  but  did  not  taste  at  all  like  bread. 

I  should  be  afraid  to  tell  the  quantity  of  meat  we  consumed 
on  this  occasion.  After  we  had  eaten  all  we  could  of  the 
roast,  and  had  cut  off  all  of  the  outside,  "  I  wonder,"  cried  I, 
"  if  it  would  not  taste  better  broiled  ?  " 

No  sooner  said  than  done.  I  sharpened  my  knife  on  a 
stone,  and,  cutting  off  slice  after  slice,  handed  them  to  Alice, 
who  disposed  them  side  by  side,  without  crowding,  on  the  glow 
ing  bed  of  coals.  She  turned  them  with  a  sharp  stick,  and, 
us  soon  as  they  were  brown,  put  them  each  one  in  a  dish  by 
itself,  that  they  might  cool  the  sooner ;  for,  as  we  had  no 
forks,  we  had  to  eat  with  our  fingers. 

We  both  agreed  that  the  broiled  was  the  nicest;  but,  in 
order  to  be  sure,  I  returned  again  to  the  roast,  and,  by  the 
time  we  had  finished,  there  was  very  little  of  the  hare  remain 
ing. 

I  advised  Alice  to  set  that  away  in  the  cupboard,  as  I 

thought  it  would  taste  very  good  eaten  cold  about  nine  o'clock 

in  the  evening ;  to  which  she  replied  that  she  thought  so  too, 

and,  bringing  out  one  of  her  largest  gourds,  she  collected  all 

24* 


282  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

the  fragments,  and  then  began  to  clear  the  table,  and  wash  up 
the  dishes. 

She  soon  found,  however,  that  this  was  no  easy  matter ;  and, 
at  last,  gave  up  the  task  in  despair,  declaring  that  she  would 
not  do  my  work  any  longer  unless  I  would  supply  her  with 
hot  water. 

"That  is  easily  done,"  I  cried;  "all  you  have  to  do  is 
to  throw  a  few  stones  into  the  fire,  and,  as  soon  as  they 
are  hot,  just  drop  them  into  one  of  your  gourds,  and  that 
will  make  the  water  warm  enough  for  all  you  wish  to  do 
with  it." 

"  But  a  kettle  would  be  so  much  more  convenient," 
persisted  Alice ;  "  and  it  would  not  cost  you  more  than  a 
dollar." 

Now  I  happened  to  have  a  dollar  in  my  pocket ;  so,  taking 
it  out,  I  handed  it  to  her,  saying,  "  Very  well,  then,  there 
is  the  dollar,  though  it  is  all  the  money  I  have  in  the  world. 
Now  go  and  buy  your  kettle ;  you  understand  these  things 
much  better  than  I  do,  and  can  get  it  a  great  deal 
cheaper." 

"  Is  it  really  all  the  money  you  have  left?" 
"  Yes,  every  cent ;  and  it  will  be  a  long  time,  I  'm  afraid, 
before  I  shall  have  any  more." 

"  Very  well,  then  I  will  try  and  do  without  my  kettle  a 
little  longer ;  we  shall  want  the  money  more,  I  dare  say,  for 
something  else." 

"  Thank  you,  dear,"  I  cried  ;  "  but  you  shall  have  a  ket 
tle,  for  all  that ;  that  is,  if  I  can  make  you  one,  as  I  have  no 
doubt  I  can.  I  have  seen  them  making  earthen  pots  and 
pans  many  a  time  at  home,  and  it  is  the  easiest  thing  in  the 
world." 

So  I  said,  though  I  knew,  all  the  time,  that  there  were  few 


A    KETTLE.  283 

things,  that  looked  so  easy,  that  were  really  so  hard.  How 
ever,  I  had  promised,  and  after  that  there  was  nothing  left 
for  me  but  to  do  the  best  I  could.  How  I  succeeded  in  this 
new  branch  of  industry,  and  many  other  things  of  a  similar 
nature,  I  shall  relate  in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

Pottery.  —  Building  a  Fire-place.  —  Building  a  Kitchen.  —  Commence 
ment  of  the  Rainy  Season.  —  A  Hunting  Expedition. —  Great  Slaughter 
among  the  Antelopes. —  Smoked  Venison. —  History  of  a  Day. —  Leather 
Dressing.  — My  Success  in  Dyeing.  —  Keeping  a  Journal.  —  New  Kind 
of  Stationery.  — The  wonderful  Lamp. 

I  DISSOLVED  the  clay  I  intended  to  use  for  my  pottery  in 
a  gourd  full  of  water,  and,  after  stirring  it  violently,  I  waited 
a  moment  for  the  heavier  particles  to  settle,  and  then  poured 
out  the  residue  into  another  vessel.  When  the  water  in  this 
vessel  had  become  quite  clear,  I  drained  it  all  off,  and  thus 
obtained  a  small  quantity  of  clay  as  fine  as  any  one  could  wish, 
and  entirely  free  from  any  substance  that  might  cause  it  to 
crack  in  drying.  But,  not  to  weary  the  reader  with  a  more  par 
ticular  account,  suffice  it  to  say,  that,  after  almost  innumerable 
failures,  I  had  at  last  the  pleasure  of  presenting  Alice  with  a 
stock  of  earthen  ware  sufficient  to  supply  all  her  wants. 

The  largest  of  these  pots  would  not  hold  above  a  gallon, 
and  they  were  all  exceedingly  ugly  to  look  at ;  but  they  an 
swered  the  purpose,  and  that  was  enough. 

Alice  next  complained  that  she  could  not  do  without  a  fire 
place.  The  wind,  she  said,  blew  the  smoke  into  her  eyes, 
and  into  the  soup,  and,  in  fact,  everywhere  else  but  where  it 
ought  to  go  ;  and  she  wanted  a  place  to  set  her  kettles  where 


BUILDING    A    FIRE-PLACE    AND    KITCHEN.  285 

they  would  not  be  all  the  time  upsetting ;  and  then  a  fire 
place  would  look  so  much  like  home,  and  be  so  pleasant  to  sit 
by  ;  and  it  would  be  easier  to  make  the  fire  in  rainy  weather ; 
and  — 

"  Enough  !  enough !  "  I  cried ;  "  I  beg  you  will  say  no 
more ;  any  one  of  these  reasons  is  more  than  sufficient ; 
you  shall  have  a  fire-place,  if  it  can  be  had  for  love  or 
money." 

I  believe,  if  she  had  asked  me  for  a  roc's  egg,  I  should  have 
promised  to  give  it  to  her.  But,  after  the  difficulties  I  hud 
just  surmounted,  making  a  fire-place  was  the  easiest  thing  in 
the  world.  At  the  same  time  it  was  very  hard,  as  I  had  to 
bring  most  of  the  stone  from  a  considerable  distance,  and 
though  Alice  very  good-naturedly  offered  to  help  me,  I  would 
not  let  her  move  a  finger. 

After  I  had  built  the  fire-place  as  high  as  my  head,  narrow 
ing  it  gradually  towards  the  top,  I  added  a  chimney  of  sticks, 
like  a  cob-house,  and  then  stopped  up  all  the  cracks  and 
crevices  with  a  mortar  made  of  equal  parts  of  clay  and 
ashes.  I  arranged  a  place  on  either  side  to  set  the  kettles, 
leaving  sufficient  space  in  the  middle  for  broiling  and  roast 
ing  ;  and  "  Now,"  said  I,  when  all  was  done,  "  what  else  will 
you  have  ?  " 

Alice  reflected  a  moment,  and  then  replied,  with  a  smile  that 
would  have  repaid  me  for  a  thousand  fire-places,  and  would 
have  been  a  thousand  times  pleasanter  to  sit  by,  too,  "  I  think 
some  sort  of  shade  would  be  very  convenient,  don't  you  ?  " 

"  Certainly,"  I  cried ;  "  I  wonder  I  did  not  think  of  it  be 
fore.  I  will  build  you  such  an  arbor  as  never  was  seen  since 
Eve's  day." 

Four  stout  stakes,  with  crotches  at  the  top,  set  in  the  earth 
at  distances  of  ten  and  twenty  feet,  formed  the  corner-posts  of 


286  THE    NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 

our  new  kitchen.  Between  these  I  planted  others,  two  on  the 
shorter  side  and  four  on  the  longer,  and  then  stretched  across 
slender  poles,  which  I  secured  to  the  posts  with  thongs  of 
hide.  The  whole  was  covered  with  a  thick  thatch  of  palm- 
leaves. 

We  thus  obtained  a  very  handsome  and  commodious  kitchen, 
sufficiently  large  to  contain  our  winter's  stock  of  fuel,  and 
leave  room  besides  for  our  various  household  duties.  I  after 
wards  added  a  covered  walk  extending  from  the  kitchen  to 
our  sleeping  apartments,  that  Alice  might  be  able  to  pass  from 
one  to  the  other  without  getting  wet  in  rainy  weather.  From 
time  to  time  we  set  out  climbers  and  running  vines  round  the 
sides  of  our  arbor,  which  was  thus  speedily  covered  with  so 
dense  a  growth  of  leaves  and  flowers,  that  it  looked  like  a 
solid  mass  of  verdure. 

All  these  operations,  as  might  be  supposed,  took  up  con 
siderable  time.  I  was  obliged  to  make  several  trips  up  the 
river,  in  order  to  obtain  palm-leaf  enough  to  cover  the  roof. 
Then  my  axe  was  dull,  so  that  cutting  the  sticks  and  driving 
them  into  the  ground  cost  me  almost  incredible  labor.  At 
the  same  time  it  was  necessary  to  lay  in  a  supply  of  dried 
figs,  of  oranges  and  cocoanuts,  against  the  approach  of  the 
rainy  season ;  for,  as  some  one  had  unfortunately  borrowed 
my  umbrella,  and  I  always  had  a  great  horror  of  getting  wet, 
I  wished  to  avoid,  as  much  as  possible,  the  necessity  of  ven 
turing  abroad  in  unpleasant  weather. 

On  one  of  these  voyages  we  were  so  fortunate  as  to  shoot 
no  less  than  a  dozen  hares,  a  hedgehog,  and  also  a  couple  of 
antelopes.  We  ate  a  part  of  the  meat,  and  smoked  the  re 
mainder  for  use  during  winter ;  and  then,  having  laid  in  a 
sufficient  supply  of  everything  we  thought  we  should  be  likely 


HUNTING    EXPEDITION.  287 

to  want,  we  said  to  each  other,  "  Now  it  may  rain  as  soon  as 
it  has  a  mind  to." 

The  first  rain  began  to  fall  on  the  27th  of  November,  but 
it  was  only  a  slight  shower ;  and  for  more  than  a  week  after 
the  sky  was  as  bright  as  ever.  As  I  longed  to  replace  our 
present  stiff  and  cumbrous  garments  with  others  of  a  lighter 
and  softer  nature,  and  as  I  thought  that  the  rainy  season 
would  be  especially  favorable  for  this  experiment,  I  determined 
to  embrace  the  opportunity  afforded  by  this  fine  weather  to 
obtain  a  fresh  supply  of  skins. 

We  accordingly  once  more  ascended  the  river  as  far  up  as 
St.  Anthony's  Falls,  and  there,  leaving  the  boat,  we  passed 
through  the  narrow  belt  of  woods  that  girded  the  banks,  and 
came  out  on  an  immense  plain  that  extended  quite  i?p  to  the 
foot  of  the  mountains,  and  was  dotted  only  here  and  there  with 
clumps  of  bushes,  and  occasionally  a  tree  of  considerable  size. 

Over  this  plain  there  wandered  innumerable  herds  of  ante 
lopes,  which  grazed  upon  the  scanty  herbage,  and,  sometimes, 
towards  the  end  of  the  dry  season,  even  ventured  up  into  the 
valleys,  where  they  fell  a  prey  to  the  wild  beasts  that  infested 
that  region. 

The  first  that  we  met  with  fled  at  our  approach,  till  they 
reached  what  they  considered  a  safe  distance,  and  then  turned 
to  look,  with  eyes  brimful  of  curiosity  and  wonder,  and 
almost  always  in  attitudes  of  astonishing  grace  and  vivacity. 
After  following  them  several  miles,  without  ever  getting  near 
enough  to  shoot,  I  at  length  bethought  me  of  an  expedient 
that  I  remembered  to  have  read  of  as  being  sometimes  prac 
tised  among  the  hunters  on  our  western  prairies  ;  and,  as  I  had 
little  doubt  that  the  nature  of  these  animals  was  the  same  all 
the  world  over,  I  determined  to  see  if  my  antelopes  could  not 
be  caught  in  the  same  way. 


288  THE    NEW   AGE   OF    GOLD. 

Having  thrown  ourselves  flat  upon  the  ground,  I  then  made 
Alice  place  her  cap  on  the  end  of  her  bow,  and  wave  it  gently 
in  the  air.  The  antelopes,  who  had  already  stopped  to  gaze, 
felt  their  curiosity  still  more  inflamed  by  this  new  phenomenon. 
They  gradually  drew  nearer  and  nearer,  not  in  a  direct  line, 
but  in  contracting  circles,  till  they  had  come  within  about  fifty 
yards,  when,  fearing  lest  they  should  take  some  sudden  alarm, 
I  let  fly  an  arrow  into  the  middle  of  the  herd,  which,  fortun 
ately  lighting  on  one  of  the  largest,  brought  him  down  after 
running  nearly  a  mile. 

We  followed  up  the  hunt  for  three  whole  days,  sometimes 
making  use  of  this  same  stratagem,  and  at  others,  when  the 
wind  was  in  the  right  direction,  stealing  upon  them  behind 
rocks  or  bushes,  till  we  had  shot  no  less  than  seventeen,  which 
I  thought  would  be  enough  to  supply  our  wants  for  some  time 
to  come. 

We  saw  no  signs  of  any  wild  beast  during  this  whole  expe 
dition,  which  we  could  not  but  consider  a  very  fortunate 
circumstance,  as  we  had  no  one  but  ourselves  to  depend  on, 
having  left  Hamlet  at  home  lest  the  sight  of  him  should  alarm 
the  deer. 

I  left  the  bodies  of  the  antelopes  where  they  fell,  except 
three  that  I  happened  to  shoot  near  the  river,  and  those  I 
carried  on  my  shoulders  to  the  boat,  intending  to  dry  and 
smoke  them  for  winter's  use.  This  addition  to  our  larder 
afterwards  proved  very  acceptable. 

After  this  voyage,  as  we  did  not  expect  to  use  our  ship 
again  for  several  months,  I  hauled  her  up  on  the  beach,  and 
covered  her  with  a  great  heap  of  branches,  as  a  protection 
from  the  weather. 

We  now  began  to  be  very  much  at  home.  The  rainy  season 
had  plainly  set  in,  and  we  had  little  inducement  to  venture 


LE  ATHER-DRESSING .  289 

far  into  the  country.  If  we  did,  however  bright  it  might  be 
when  we  started,  it  was  sure  to  rain  before  we  got  back.  But 
the  rain,  though  violent,  was  generally  soon  over.  I  have 
known  no  less  than  six  heavy  showers  in  one  afternoon,  and 
yet  between  them  there  was  hardly  a  cloud  to  be  seen  in  the 
whole  sky. 

Notwithstanding  this  confinement,  we  seldom  or  never  suf 
fered  for  want  of  occupation.  We  rose  with  the  sun.  "While 
Alice  completed  her  toilet,  about  which  she  seemed  quite  as 
particular  as  if  there  had  been  the  whole  world  to  see  her,  I 
raked  out  the  brands  from  under  the  ashes,  and  kindled  the 
fire  ;  and  then,  leaving  her  to  set  the  table  and  get  ready  the 
breakfast,  I  walked  out,  if  it  was  pleasant,  to  see  if  I  could 
shoot  a  bird  or  two,  or  perhaps  a  hare,  for  dinner.  If  it  was 
not  pleasant,  I  pretended  to  chop  some  wood,  or  to  be  very 
busy  about  some  trifle  or  other,  that  Alice  might  not  think 
me  always  in  the  way. 

After  breakfast  was  over,  and  Alice  had  cleared  away  the 
things,  she  gave  up  the  kitchen  entirely  to  my  use.  I  brought 
in  my  skins  from  the  storehouse,  and  set  to  work  at  my  new 
trade  of  a  leather-dresser.  By  means  of  a  strong  ley  made 
from  ashes  I  first  removed  all  the  hair.  I  then  scraped  the 
skin  clean  with  my  knife  and  sharp  shells,  and,  having  par 
tially  tanned  it  by  soaking  several  weeks  in  a  warm  solution 
obtained  from  the  bark  of  a  tree,  the  name  of  which  I  did 
not  know,  I  proceeded  to  put  the  finishing  touch  to  my  work 
by  dyeing  it  a  variety  of  colors. 

This  was,  by  far,  the  pleasantest  part  of  the  whole  opera 
tion.      I  became  insensibly  so  much  interested  that  I  could 
hardly  find  time  to  spare  for  my  meals.     I  began  at  first  with 
one  or  two  trees,  but  the  result  was  so  satisfactory  that  I  was 
25 


290  THE   NEW    AGE    OF   GOLD. 

tempted  to  try  others ;  and,  before  the  winter  was  gone,  I  had 
made  experiments  with  nearly  twenty  different  kinds. 

There  was  hardly  one  that  did  not  furnish  me  with  a  color, 
either  from  its  wood  or  bark ;  and  no  two  of  them  were  exactly 
alike.  By  combining  them  in  different  proportions  I  was 
able  to  obtain  almost  any  shade  I  pleased.  But  the  colors 
in  which  I  succeeded  best  were  a  pale  yellow,  a  delicate  wood 
color,  and  a  dark  green ;  and  though  none  of  them  were  very 
bright,  yet,  when  skilfully  contrasted,  they  gave  me  a  dress 
that  sufficiently  answered  my  ideas  of  royal  magnificence,  and 
made  me  burn  with  eagerness  to  see  my  Alice  so  becomingly 
attired. 

Nor  was  her  impatience  a  whit  less  than  mine,  though  she 
did  not  show  it  quite  so  plainly ;  and,  as  soon  as  the  material 
was  ready,  she  began  at  once  to  make  it  into  clothes. 

Our  first  suits,  which  were  intended  for  every-day  wear, 
were  only  of  the  original  color  of  the  skin ;  and  though  a 
decided  improvement  on  what  we  had  been  wearing,  and,  as 
far  as  comfort  was  concerned,  quite  equal  to  our  expectations, 
I  cannot  say  that  they  were  very  becoming.  Then  she  made 
me  a  second  suit,  of  far  richer  material  and  workmanship  ;  and, 
having  by  this  time  got  her  hand  in,  she  set  about  fashioning 
one  for  herself,  on  which  she  lavished  all  her  skill  and  inge 
nuity,  and  which  demanded  so  much  labor  that  it  was  not 
finished  till  the  end  of  winter.  I  shall  describe  this  more 
particularly  hereafter. 

I  began  at  this  time  to  keep  a  journal.  When  I  first  con 
ceived  this  project,  it  seemed  totally  impossible.  I  had 
neither  pen,  nor  paper,  nor  ink;  all  of  which  I  had  hitherto 
supposed  to  be  indispensable.  There  was  no  lack  of  birds, 
however,  on  the  island,  whose  feathers  furnished  an  indiffer 
ent  substitute  for  goose-quills ;  palm-leaves  supplied  me  with 


A    WONDERFUL    LAMP.  291 

paper,  and  for  ink  I  employed  a  mixture  of  soot  and  tallow, 
though,  in  order  to  make  it  fit  for  use,  I  had  always  to  heat  it 
over  the  fire. 

I  usually  wrote  my  journal  in  the  evening,  by  the  light  of 
the  fire ;  till,  at  last,  finding  this  very  inconvenient,  I  deter 
mined  to  see  if  I  could  not  make  a  lamp.  I  had  plenty  of 
fat  to  use,  instead  of  oil,  and  a  cocoanut-shell  did  very  well  to 
hold  it ;  but  the  tubes  for  the  wick  gave  me  a  deal  of  trouble. 
I  made  some  at  last,  however,  out  of  clay,  and,  having  torn 
up  a  bit  of  sailcloth  to  use  as  wicking,  my  lamp  was  complete. 

I  was  so  much  pleased  with  this  new  specimen  of  my  inge 
nuity,  and  so  impatient  to  see  how  it  would  work,  that  I  could 
not  wait  till  evening,  but  must  needs  go  to  lighting  it  at  once. 
The  consequence  of  which  was  that  Alice,  who  knew  nothing 
about  it,  coming  out  of  the  house  a  few  moments  after,  stum 
bled  over  the  lamp,  spilt  the  oil,  and  broke  one  of  the  tubes 
all  to  pieces.  I  succeeded,  however,  in  repairing  the  mischief 
before  night,  and  that  evening  we  had  the  satisfaction  of  sit 
ting  up  till  nine  or  ten  o'clock,  —  I  writing  in  my  journal,  and 
Alice,  sitting  by  my  side,  engaged  with  nimble  fingers  in 
fashioning  some  article  of  dress. 

A  few  extracts  will  show  the  character  of  my  entries,  which 
I  usually  made  as  brief  as  possible,  in  order  to  economize 
room  ;  not  that  I  had  any  fears  lest  my  paper  should  give  out, 
but  because,  otherwise,  there  would  be  danger  of  my  volumes 
accumulating  so  rapidly  that  I  should  have  no  place  to  bestow 
them. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

Extracts  from  my  Journal.  —  Dyeing.  —  Making  a  Comb.  —  Yams. —  A 
new  Kind  of  Hair-brush.  —  Wishing  for  a  Pedlar. — Christmas.  —  I 
build  another  House.  —  My  new  Clothes.  —  New  Furniture.  —  "Can't 
afford  it."  —  Palm-leaf  Hats.  — Hamlet.  —  Wild  Bees.  —  Going  to  Mar 
ket.  —  Fishing.  — Hamlet's  irregular  Habits.  —  The  Kangaroo.  —  My 
Birth-day. 

Dec.  13th,  1843.  RAINING  hard.  Dyeing.  Fine  wood- 
color.  Showed  it  to  Alice ;  she  was  delighted.  Began  to 
make  her  a  comb.  Hesitated  between  wooden  teeth  and  fish 
bones.  Dinner,  — have  soup.  Very  good,  but  wanted  pepper, 
onions,  and  potatoes. 

l&h.  Finished  comb.  Wooden  teeth  inserted  into  a 
straight  stick.  Alice  liked  it  amazingly.  Wished  I  could 
make  her  a  brush ;  has  none  at  present  but  a  hare's  foot ; 
wonder  how  a  strip  of  hedgehog  skin  would  answer  ? 

IQth.  Clear  morning.  Shot  a  bird  something  like  a 
partridge,  but  twice  as  large.  Not  knowing  what  else  to  call 
it,  called  it  a  grouse. 

llth.  Found,  to-day,  by  a  most  ludicrous  accident,  a  root 
resembling  the  potato.  Think  it  must  be  the  yam.  Planted 
a  few  near  the  house,  though  I  had  nothing  to  dig  with  but  a 
stake. 

l(Jth.  Made  Alice  a  brush  in  the  way  I  proposed ;  a  bit 
of  hedgehog  skin  fastened  to  a  flat  piece  of  wood.  Does  very 


MY   JOURNAL.  293 

well.  I  don't  think  I  was  ever  so  happy  in  my  life.  All  I 
wish  is  that  my  mother  and  the  rest  of  the  good  folks  at  home 
could  look  in  on  us,  once  in  a  while,  just  to  see  how  pleasantly 
we  are  situated.  I  am  afraid,  however,  we  should  send  them 
home  poorer  than  they  came.  I  suspect  we  should  serve  them 
little  better  than  if  they  had  fallen  among  actual  savages. 
Alice  and  I  have  many  a  laugh,  thinking  what  a  stripping 
there  would  be. 

23d.  Alice  wants  a  looking-glass,  and  I  do  not  know  of 
any  way  to  make  her  one.  She  complains,  too,  that  she  has 
no  pins.  She  lost  her  last  one  yesterday.  Wonder  why  that 
pedlar  has  n't  been  along  this  way  lately  ?  Our  only  towel, 
a  bit  of  sailcloth,  I  am  afraid  will  not  last  much  longer. 
Alice  wants  a  new  broom,  a  quantity  of  tin  ware,  a  brass 
clock,  and,  indeed,  to  hear  her  talk,  one  would  think  that  sho 
would  exhaust  his  whole  stock. 

25^.  Christmas.  A  warm,  bright  day.  Tried  to  think 
of  our  friends  at  home,  in  the  midst  of  snow-drifts,  but  could 
not  quite  make  it  out.  Our  Christmas  dinner  consisted  of  a 
roasted  grouse,  yams  boiled  and  fried,  together  with  a  dessert 
of  young  cocoanuts,  oranges,  figs,  pine-apples,  and  another 
fruit  that  we  call  the  mango.  I  discovered  this  only  a  few 
days  ago ;  it  is  perfectly  delicious,  and  Alice  likes  it  even 
better  than  the  pine-apple.  For  my  part,  however,  I  prefer 
the  latter ;  indeed,  I  cannot  conceive  of  anything  of  a  diviner 
flavor ;  I  can  compare  it  only  to  strains  of  melting  music, 
kneaded  up  by  fairies'  fingers  with  the  dew  of  honeyed  flowers. 
I  have  set  out  a  number  of  plants  in  one  corner  of  our  garden, 
so  that  we  can  have  them  as  often  as  we  like. 

Jan.  llth.     Rain  nearly  all  day.    The  roof  of  the  kitchen 
leaks  a  little,  but  it  is  in  Hamlet's  corner,  and  we  don't  so 
much  mind  it.      Begin  to  hollow  out  another  gourd  to  use  as 
25* 


294  THE   NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD. 

a  sitting-room.  The  wind  now  blows  out  our  lamp,  and  it  is 
so  dark  all  around  us  that  even  when  it  is  burning  brightest  I 
can  hardly  see  to  write. 

~L9th.  Alice  has  just  finished  my  clothes.  They  are  rather 
tight  in  the  seat ;  but  I  did  not  tell  frer  so,  for  fear  she  would 
feel  badly  about  it. 

20th.  Alice  has  just  read  every  word  of  what  I  wrote 
yesterday,  and  insists  upon  altering  the  obnoxious  garment. 
It  is  rather  funny,  as  she  had  not  looked  into  my  journal 
before  since  its  commencement.  She  says  now  she  shall  know 
where  to  look  when  she  wishes  to  find  out  whether  I  am  suited. 
I  don't  suppose  she  will  ever  look  again,  however,  so  I  may 
write  what  I  please.  Ah !  if  she  did  but  know  it,  everything 
she  does  is  sure  to  suit  me — seems  wisest,  virtuousest,  dis- 
creetest,  best. 

2lst.  After  all,  Alice  has  gone  and  read  every  word  of 
yesterday's  journal !  I  knew  it  by  her  looks,  even  before  she 
told  me.  And  then,  when  I  asked  her,  she  blushed  so  prettily ! 
Finished  the  sitting-room.  Hung  the  lamp  from  the  centre 
of  the  arched  ceiling  with  a  thong  of  leather. 

23d.  Made  a  table  for  the  sitting-room,  and  chairs  to 
match,  all  in  one  day.  They  are  only  joints  of  bamboo. 
Alice  thinks  that  a  sofa  and  one  or  two  rocking-chairs  would 
be  convenient ;  but  doubts  whether  we  could  afford  it.  Afford 
it !  ah  !  how  glad  I  am  that  that  ugly  word  has  really  no 
meaning  on  our  little  island  !  We  never  use  it  without  laugh 
ing  and  thinking  of  those  poor  wretches  at  home  who  find  it 
such  a  constant  bugbear.  They  can't  afford  this,  and  they 
can't  afford  that ;  but  we  —  there  is  nothing  we  can't  afford. 

kl±th.  Found  my  shirt  this  morning  in  two  pieces.  Con 
cluded  not  to  wear  shirts  any  longer,  —  they  are  an  unneces- 


MY   JOURNAL.  295 

sary  refinement  of  luxury,  and,  I  think,  decidedly  effeminate. 
Besides,  I  find  chamois  leather  a  great  deal  softer. 

27 th.  We  found  our  deer-skin  caps  altogether  too  warm  for 
this  climate,  and  began  to-day  to  plait  us  hats  of  palm-leaf. 
Made  a  wretched  bungling  piece  of  work  enough. 

29M.  My  hat  is  the  most  wretched  affair  that  can  be 
imagined,  without  shape  or  comeliness,  but  Alice's  really  begins 
to  look  like  something.  Concluded  finally  to  let  her  do  the 
whole,  and  hung  mine  up  on  a  tree,  that  we  might  have  some 
thing  to  laugh  at  when  we  feel  merry. 

Ftb.  2d.  Shot  a  hare  and  a  hedgehog,  the  first  that  I  have 
seen  so  near  the  house.  Alarmed  at  night  by  the  howling  of 
wild  beasts. 

5^.  Hamlet  is  growing  rapidly.  He  tried,  a  few  days 
since,  to  go  into  the  house,  but  got  stuck  in  the  doorway,  and 
I  had  much  ado  to  extricate  him.  I  thought,  at  one  time, 
that,  in  his  struggles  to  free  himself,  he  would  certainly  pull 
the  house  about  our  ears.  Since  then  no  coaxing,  on  our  part, 
will  induce  him  to  repeat  the  experiment,  though  I  have  taken 
pains  to  enlarge  the  door  for  his  express  accommodation.  He 
prefers  to  lodge  in  the  kitchen ;  and  the  corner  where  he  sleeps, 
and  where  he  remains  a  great  part  of  the  day,  is  called 
Hamlet's  corner.  I  always  give  him  a  portion  of  what  we 
have  for  dinner ;  but,  though  he  never  refuses  to  accept  any 
thing  that  is  offered,  I  can  easily  see  that  he  does  it  simply 
out  of  politeness.  To  one  of  his  severe  and  simple  tastes  a 
few  roots  and  a  draught  of  cold  water  from  the  spring  are 
better  than  all  those  artificial  luxuries  with  which  the  victim 
of  civilization  tempts  his  palled  and  sickly  appetite. 

6th.  Came  suddenly  this  morning,  while  walking  in  the 
woods  a  short  distance  from  the  house,  upon  a  colony  of  bees 
which  had  settled  in  a  hollow  tree.  I  was  glad  enough  to  see 


296  THE   NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

it,  for  I  have  been  longing,  ever  since  we  found  the  tamarinds, 
for  something  sweet  to  go  with  them.  I  must  come  some  day 
and  see  if  I  cannot  strike  a  bargain  with  my  thirsty  neigh 
bors. 

1th.  As  Alice's  hair  gives  me  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  I 
advised  her  to  cut  it  off,  and  wear  it  short  like  a  boy.  After 
a  long  time  she  made  up  her  mind  to  follow  my  advice, 
though  I  could  see  it  cost  her  a  prodigious  effort ;  for  her  hair 
was  very  abundant  and  beautiful.  So,  to  comfort  her,  I  told 
her  that  she  looked  more  charming  than  ever,  and  so,  in  truth, 
she  does ;  though,  I  must  confess,  her  hair  is  not  cut  very 
well,  for  I  had  nothing  but  the  very  smallest  pair  of  scissors 
in  the  world  to  cut  it  with. 

Qth.  We  had  to-day  a  roasted  grouse  stuffed  with  pounded 
cocoanut,  with  a  little  wild  sage  for  spice.  Alice  asked  me 
if  I  could  not  get  her  a  barrel  of  flour,  and  a  few  pounds  of 
butter,  so  that  she  might  make  some  pies.  I  promised  I 
would,  and  also  some  sugar,  the  next  time  I  went  to  ^  town. 
"  And,  perhaps,"  I  added,  "  you  would  like  to  have  me  bring 
you  home  a  new  calico ;  or  would  you  prefer  a  silk  ?  " —  "  0, 
no  !  "  said  she,  "  I  have  dresses  enough  already ;  but  I  should 
like  a  few  needles,  and  some  stout  thread,  and  half  a  gross  of 
large  buttons."  — "  0,  never  mind,"  I  cried,  "  about  the 
buttons,  we  can  make  them  fast  enough  ourselves ;  but  the 
three  things  you  shall  certainly  have  if  I  have  to  sell  one  of 
the  antelopes  to  pay  for  them." 

\bth.  Had  such  a  longing  for  some  fried  fish  that  I  hardly 
knew  what  to  do.  The  lake  and  river  are  full  of  them,  but, 
the  trouble  is,  I  have  no  hooks. 

16M.  Saw  my  old  friend,  the  crocodile,  this  morning. 
Made  a  sort  of  a  trap,  of  wicker-work,  and  sunk  it  in  the 


MY   JOURNAL.  297 

bottom  of  the  lake,  with  a  monkey  for  bait.    The  monkey  was 
dead. 

18M.    Have  not  caught  a  single  fish.    I  suppose  they  must 
be  afraid  of  the   monkey.     He   certainly  looks  sufficiently 


IStk.  Took  out  the  monkey,  and  baited  my  trap  afresh 
with  some  figs  and  part  of  a  hare. 

20th.  On  examining  my  trap  this  morning,  I  found  in  it 
three  good-sized  fish  ;  one  a  cod,  weighing,  perhaps,  six  pounds  ; 
but  what  the  others  were  I  did  not  know.  Alice  fried  part 
of  the  cod,  and  made  the  rest  into  a  chowder,  with  a  few 
yams.  It  was  not  as  good  as  it  ought  to  have  been,  for  want 
of  pork. 

23d.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  Hamlet  is  getting  to  be  quite 
irregular  in  his  habits.  He  is  out  late  nights,  and,  when 
questioned,  does  not  want  to  give  any  satisfactory  account  of 
himself.  I  am  really  afraid  that  we  have  had  all  the  comfort 
out  of  him  that  we  are  likely  to  know  for  a  long  time  to  come. 
Alice,  however,  takes  his  part,  and  says  it  is  no  more  than 
we  ought  to  expect  from  one  so  young  ;  and  that,  when  he 
has  sown  his  wild  oats,  he  will  settle  down  into  a  sober,  steady 
fellow.  I  might  think  so  too,  but  when  one  begins  so  late  in 
life  as  he  has  done,  it  is  apt  to  prove  a  more  serious  matter. 
But,  after  all,  I  know  no  harm  about  him  except  this  unac 
countable  mystery.  I  used  to  think  he  had  no  secrets,  but 
now  he  is  strangely  altered.  And  then,  when  I  question  him 
closely,  or  when  he  catches  either  of  us  looking  at  him,  he  is 
so  evidently  embarrassed  that  it  excites  my  worst  suspicion. 
It  is  astonishing  to  me  how  I  love  him.  I  could  not  love  him 
more  if  he  were  a  man,  and,  in  fact,  I  hardly  can  think  of 
him  as  anything  else.  I  suppose  this  is  because  I  have  no 
other  companionship  than  he  and  Alice.  I  cannot  imagine 


298  THE    NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 

what  we  should  do  without  him.  He  is  worthy  of  a  place 
among  the  constellations. 

2Stk.  Had  a  long  talk  with  Hamlet,  but  could  get  nothing 
out  of  him.  After  supper,  when  he  had  gone  out,  as  usual  of 
late,  Alice  said  she  thought  he  must  be  in  love.  I  am  sure  I 
wish  it  might  be  so  ;  but  I  know  him  too  well  for  that.  He 
is  altogether  too  reserved  and  too  fastidious  ever  to  fall  in 
love  with  any  one  he  is  likely  to  meet  with  here.  And  then 
his  behavior  is  not  at  all  such  as  would  lead  one  to  that  con 
clusion.  His  appetite  is  as  good  as  ever,  and,  for  all  I  can 
see,  he  is  quite  as  particular  about  his  looks  as  ever.  Still  it 
will  not  do  to  be  too  sure.  With  all  his  pride  and  self-respect, 
he  is  one  of  the  most  impulsive  creatures  I  ever  saw,  and  it 
would  mortify  me  exceedingly  if  he  should  be  betrayed  into  a 
match  unworthy  of  him.  I  am  satisfied  that  in  affairs  of  the 
heart,  the  wisest  and  noblest  of  us  are  most  apt  to  act  like 
fools. 

March  \st.  Caught  a  young  kangaroo,  and  carried  it  home, 
intending  to  tame  it.  I  do  not  think  he  will  give  much 
trouble,  and  the  more  we  have  of  such  pets  the  merrier. 

April  Ylth.  To-day  I  am  just  eighteen  years  of  age.  Alice 
was  fifteen  last  December.  From  her  looks  one  would  not 
take  her  to  be  a  day  older,  but  her  understanding  is  that  of  a 
woman.  Exposure  has  darkened  her  complexion  very  little, 
and  I  think  she  is  yet  more  beautiful  than  at  our  first  meeting. 
She  has  not  yet  forgotten  to  talk  about  her  grandfather,  and, 
in  fact,  I  believe  she  misses  him  now  more  than  ever.  Her  style 
of  dress  probably  takes  off  one  or  two  years  from  her  looks. 

2Glh.  Our  kangaroo  has  already  become  quite  tame.  I 
think  he  discovers  a  great  deal  of  character ;  but  he  is  rather 
flighty  and  eccentric,  with  little  of  Hamlet's  solidity  about 
him,  and  it  is  hard  to  say  what  he  will  turn  out. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

End  of  the  Rainy  Season.  —  Caught  in  a  Shower.  —  A  Fit  of  Sickness.  — 
Sage  Tea.  — Alice's  tender  Nursing.  —  Betrayal  of  her  Affection.  —  My 
Recovery.  —  An  Argument.  —  The  Promise. 

THE  winter  was  gone  before  we  knew  it.  Indeed,  the  weeks 
slid  away  so  rapidly  that,  if  it  had  not  been  for  my  journal,  I 
should  have  doubted  the  correctness  of  our  conchology. 

Supposing  that  all  danger  of  rain  was  over,  I  ventured  one 
bright  morning  rather  further  from  home  than  usual,  and, 
getting  caught  in  a  shower,  I  was  wet  to  the  skin ;  and, 
though  I  was  careful,  immediately  on  my  return,  to  give  myself 
a  thorough  drying,  it  was  then  too  late  to  avoid  the  conse 
quences  of  my  imprudence. 

I  woke  up  the  next  morning  with  a  violent  pain  in  all  my 
limbs,  especially  in  my  right  shoulder,  and  a  burning  fever  in 
my  veins.  Alice  recommended  sage  tea  made  as  hot  as  I 
could  bear  it ;  and,  more  to  please  her  than  from  any  faith  I 
had  in  it  myself,  I  drank  so  much  of  the  nauseous  beverage 
that  I  began  to  think  I  must  have  consumed  all  there  was 
upon  the  island. 

Notwithstanding  this  energetic  treatment  I  grew  worse  and 
worse,  and  was  soon  unable  to  leave  my  bed. 

And  now,  for  the  first  time,  I  felt  what  before  I  had  only 
known,  the  wonderful  adaptation  of  woman  to  the  care  of  the 


300  THE    NEW    AGE    OF   GOLD. 

sick.  Through  those  long  hours  of  sleepless  agony  Alice  hardly 
ever  left  my  side,  except  to  prepare  something  that  she  hoped 
would  either  stay  the  progress  of  the  disease,  or  quench  my 
burning  thirst. 

Her  love,  and  sympathy,  and  tenderness,  seemed  perfectly 
inexhaustible.  I  had  sometimes  accused  her,  in  my  own 
mind,  of  coldness  and  indifference,  for  she  was  often  moody 
and  abstracted,  and  never  so  demonstrative  of  her  feelings  as 
my  jealous  temper  demanded ;  but  now  I  saw  how  greatly  I 
had  wronged  her. 

Her  anxiety  lest  I  should  not  recover  broke  down  at  once 
all  her  pride  and  reserve.  Again  and  again,  when  she  thought 
I  slept,  I  saw  her,  through  my  drooping  lashes,  regarding  me 
with  such  an  air  of  mingled  sorrow  and  fondness  as  filled  my 
soul  with  a  joy  I  had  never  known  before.  Often  I  caught 
her  murmured  words  of  prayer,  and  heard  how  she  interceded 
for  my  recovery. 

More  than  once,  she  suddenly  left  my  side,  as  if  fearful 
lest  her  anguish  should  break  out  into  uncontrollable  weeping ; 
and  then  her  stifled  sobs  and  cries  came  to  me  out  of  the  dark 
night.  In  my  presence  she  was  usually  calm  and  composed, 
and  even  cheerful. 

But  one  day,  when  my  disease  was  at  its  height,  and  I  had 
tokl  her,  scarce  knowing  what  I  said,  that  I  feared  I  should 
not  recover,  she  broke  forth  into  such  a  sudden  and  violent 
burst  of  passion  as  seriously  alarmed  me  for  her  own  safety. 

"Dear  llobert!"  she  exclaimed,  "my  own  dear,  precious 
llobert !  you  shall  not  die;  I  will  not  let  you  die;  God  will 
not  let  you  die ;  I  have  as  good  a  right  to  die  as  you.  Do 
you  hear  me  now,  dear  Robert  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  I  murmured. 

"  And  see  me  ?  " 


SICKNESS   AND   RECOVERY.  301 

"  Yes." 

"  And  do  you  feel  my  hand  on  your  forehead  ?  O  yes,  he 
sees  me  and  hears  me  now;  but  to-morrow —  Can  you 
hear  me  now,  when  I  whisper  ?  so  ?  And  now  can  you  hear 
me?  Can  you  feel  that  little  touch?  Then  you  must  be 
alive  —  but  to-morrow,  and  to-morrow,  and  the  next  day  ! 
How  can  you  leave  me  so  ?  Why  did  you  bring  me  to  this 
island  ?  Why  did  you  save  my  life  ?  Why  did  we  not  both 
die  together  ?  And  a  week  ago  I  was  so  happy  !  Did  you 
know  how  much  I  loved  you?  Did  I  ever  tell  you?  No,  I 
never  told  you.  You  thought  I  was  cold  and  heartless.  And 
all  the  time  I  loved  you  so  hard  that  it  really  pained  me.  Did 
you  ever  feel  so?  Do  you  love  me  like  that?  No,  men 
never  love  like  that.  0,  I  wish  I  did  n't !  I  wish  you  would 
do  something  to  make  me  hate  you !  Then  I  could  look  on 
and  smile  to  see  you  die.  0,  God,  forgive  me!" 

Here  she  bowed  her  head  between  her  knees,  and  I  felt 
that  she  was  praying. 

Thus  I  lingered  several  days  between  life  and  death,  and 
after  that  I  began  to  amend.  But,  now  the  danger  was  over, 
Alice  seemed  to  feel  it  yet  more  sensibly  than  before. 

She  could  not  think  of  it  without  a  shudder.  Yet  she 
thought  of  nothing  else.  It  was  mingled  in  her  dreams. 
Night  after  night  she  awoke  with  a  sudden  start,  dreaming 
that  I  was  dead,  and  could  not  be  pacified  till  she  had  felt 
the  beating  of  my  heart. 

One  day,  the  first  day  that  I  was  able  to  sit  up,  she  was 
telling  me  how  much  she  had  suffered,  and  how  afraid  she  was 
that  I  would  not  get  well;  "and  yet,"  said  I,  interrupting 
her,  "  though  you  profess  to  love  me  so  much,  you  will  not 
become  my  wife." 

"  How  can  I,  dear  Robert,"  she  replied,  "  when  there  is  no 
26 


302  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

one  to  marry  us?  You  know  very  well  what  my  answer 
would  be,  if  we  were  at  home." 

"  But  we  are  not  at  home,"  I  answered,  "  nor  like  to  be. 
"We  shall  live  and  die  upon  this  island.  And  you  will  die 
first.  I  shall  live,  no  one  knows  how  long,  without  a  soul  to 
speak  to,  or  comfort  me.  And  it  will  be  all  your  doing.  Yet 
you  say  you  love  me." 

"  Dear  Robert  —  "  her  eyes  filled  with  tears,  and  she  could 
say  no  more ;  yet,  with  the  selfishness  of  sickness,  I  remorse 
lessly  pursued  my  advantage. 

"  You  say  you  love  me,  yet  you  sacrifice  my  happiness  to 
the  merest  whim.  As  if  the  sacredness  of  marriage  depended  on 
a  mere  form  of  words  !  As  if  that  law  had  anything  more  to 
do  with  us,  than  the  laws  regulating  the  holding  of  property, 
or  the  election  of  president !  As  long  as  we  are  members  of 
any  community,  I  readily  allow  that  we  are  required  by  God 
to  submit  to  whatever  regulations  its  rulers  may  make ;  but 
it  is  not  so  with  us.  We  are  no  longer  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  nor  of  any  other  country.  We  are  a  community  by 
ourselves.  We  are  not  bound  by  their  laws, —  only  by  the  laws 
of  God.  And  God  never  said,  «  You  shall  be  married  in  this 
way  or  that ; '  he  left  the  choice  entirely  to  us ;  he  only  says, 
*  After  you  are  married,  you  must  not  separate  from  each 
other.'  You  know,  dear  Alice,  that  I  would  never  ask  you 
to  do  anything  that  I  thought  was  wrong,  or  anything  that 
would,  in  the  least  degree,  diminish  my  love  or  esteem.  I  do 
not  wonder  even  that  you  feel  as  you  do,  but  your  reason 
ought  by  this  time  to  show  you  that  I  am  right." 

"  But  what  will  the  world  say?     You  know  how  —  " 

"  We  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  world.  There  is  no  one 
here,  that  you  need  fear  their  remarks.  We  are  —  " 


AN   ARGUMENT.  303 

"  But  if  anything  should  happen ;  if  we  ever  should  return 
home  ?  " 

"  We  never  shall  return.  If  you  were  once  mine,  nothing 
could  ever  make  me  leave  this  island." 

"  You  think  so  now,  but  I  am  afraid  you  do  not  know 
yourself  as  well  as  I  do.  You  are  not  like  me.  You  are  am 
bitious.  I  have  seen  it  long.  And  then,  if  you  should  —  (.) 
Robert !  forgive  me  if  I  wrong  you.  I  am  sure  there  is  noth 
ing  I  wish  so  much  as  to  see  you  happy.  But  I  have  been 
educated  so  differently." 

"  Dear  Alice  !  my  education  has  been  as  strict  as  yours. 
My  mother  was  one  of  the  best  women  that  ever  lived,  yet 
she  would  say  as  I  do.  But  I  see  you  do  not  know  how  much 
I  love  you.'  Only  say  that  you  will  be  mine,  and  I  will  do 
anything  in  my  power  to  make  you  happy." 

With  these  and  similar  arguments,  constantly  repeated 
and  reiterated  in  every  form,  I  at  length  won  from  her  a  re 
luctant  promise  that,  if  we  were  still  on  the  island  at  the  ex 
piration  of  another  year,  she  would  become  my  bride ;  and 
with  this  promise  I  was  forced  to  be  content. 

My  recovery  after  this  was  rapid ;  in  a  week  I  was  able  to 
walk  without  assistance,  and,  before  the  end  of  the  month, 
though  still  rather  thinner  and  paler  than  usual,  I  felt  quite 
as  strong  as  ever.  This  was  the  only  attack  of  sickness  that 
either  of  us  knew  all  the  time  we  remained  upon  the  island ; 
indeed,  the  temperature  was  so  even,  and  the  air  so  pure,  that 
it  seemed  enough  almost  to  discourage  Death  himself. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

Returning  Spring.  —  Our  delicious  Mode  of  Life.  —  Journal.  —  Anniver 
sary  of  our  Landing. — Exploring  the  Cavern.  —  Gathering  Tigs. — 
Forks  and  Spoons.  —  My  Bridal  Gift.  —  Our  Wedding  Dresses.  —  The 
Glee  of  the  Fountain.  —  The  Marriage  Ceremony. —  Our  Wedding  Tour. 

THE  return  of  Spring  brought  with  it  a  return  to  our  old  em 
ployment  ;  and  here  again  I  must  have  recourse  to  my  journal. 

May  \\th,  1844.  —  The  weather  for  several  days  has  been 
more  delicious  than  can  be  imagined.  The  mornings  espe 
cially  are  so  delightful  that  it  is  sufficient  happiness  simply 
to  breathe.  Nearly  our  whole  time  is  passed  in  the  woods, 
and  we  never  seem  to  grow  weary  of  their  companionship. 
There  is  such  an  endless  variety  of  hill  and  dale,  and  the 
walks  in  every  direction  are  so  charming,  that  our  only  diffi 
culty  is  to  choose  between  them.  Sometimes  we  prefer  a  path 
in  which  we  have  often  been  before,  and  which  has  thus 
become  perfectly  familiar ;  but  generally  we  ramble  carelessly 
along,  without  asking  where  we  are  going,  and  are  never  so 
happy  as  when  we  have  succeeded  in  losing  ourselves  in  the 
depths  of  the  forest. 

Game  is  so  abundant  that  we  can  hardly  take  a  step  with 
out  dislodging  a  grouse  or  a  hen,  or  some  one  of  a  hundred 
other  animals,  for  which  we  have  as  yet  found  no  names ;  but 
we  seldom  shoot  more  than  enough  to  satisfy  our  wants.  * 


MY    JOURNAL.  305 

At  noon  we  seat  ourselves  in  some  shady  arbor,  by  the  side 
of  some  bubbling  brook,  and  there  we  eat  our  dinner,  and 
sleep  and  dream  away  the  happy  hours.  We  build  no  castles 
in  the  air,  for  we  cannot  imagine  a  situation  more  delightful 
than  that  we  already  enjoy.  The  singing  of  the  birds,  rus 
tling  of  the  leaves,  the  flowing  water,  and  the  blossoming 
flowers,  combine  to  produce  a  concert  more  charming  than  w;ss 
ever  made  by  art. 

We  have  no  notes  to  pay,  no  money  to  borrow,  no  need  to 
lay  up  either  for  ourselves  or  our  children. 

"  We  fleet  the  time  carelessly,  as  they  did  in  the  golden 
age."  We  are  as  idle  as  we  please,  and  our  consciences  do 
not  reproach  us.  We  have  no  books  but  the  great  volume  of 
nature,  and  that  lies  ever  open  for  our  use.  We  need  no 
learning  but  such  as  we  draw  from  the  trees  and  flowers  and 
bright  summer  skies.  Pleasant  teachers  are  they  all. 

June  ~LOtk,  1844.  —  It  is  just  a  year  ago  to-day  since  we 
landed  on  the  island.  I  can  hardly  believe  it  has  been  so 
long.  I  think,  on  the  whole,  it  has  been  the  happiest  year  of 
my  life.  I  could  be  content  to  live  so  forever.  Alice,  too, 
seems  far  more  contented,  and  I  have  strong  hopes  of  prevail 
ing  upon  her  to  shorten  the  time  fixed  upon  for  our  marriage. 
Let  her  only  once  make  up  her  mind  that  we  are  never  to 
leave  the  island,  and  I  shall  have  no  further  difficulty.  Noth 
ing  will  then  be  wanting  to  complete  my  happiness. 

June  I3th.  —  Went  up  the  river,  as  far  as  the  Grand  Bend, 
to  obtain  a  supply  of  oranges.  Hamlet  has  grown  so  large 
that  we  are  obliged  to  leave  him  at  home  on  the.se  excursions, 
much  to  his  dissatisfaction  and  my  own.  I  would  build  a 
larger  boat  if  I  only  had  anything  to  do  it  with. 

\ltJi.  —  Went  yesterday  to  visit  the  place  where  I  buried 
poor  Bill  to  see  if  I  could  not  get  some  nails  out  of  the  long- 
20* 


306  TIIE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

boat.  Broke  off  several  pieces  with  the  axe,  brought  them 
home,  and  burned  them.  The  nails  made  very  good  arrow 
heads,  much  better  than  flint.  I  can  hit  a  mark  now  as  big 
as  my  head  almost  every  time  at  a  distance  of  a  hundred 
paces.  My  bow  is  six  feet  long,  and  so  exceedingly  stubborn 
that  a  year  ago  I  am  sure  I  could  not  have  begun  to  bend  it. 
Yet  now  it  yields  with  little  effort. 

2-)d.  —  Made  a  fishhook  put  of  one  of  the  nails  I  got  from 
the  long-boat,  and  caught  two  fish,  weighing,  perhaps,  four 
pounds  apiece.  They  were  very  good  eating.  Alice  twisted 
the  lines  from  the  bark  of  a  certain  tree. 

2otk.  —  Went  up  the  river  again,  in  the  hopes  of  shooting 
some  deer.  Killed  three ;  also  a  kangaroo,  of  which  I  was 
very  proud. 

July  Id.  —  While  hunting  yesterday,  got  completely  lost, 
and  had  to  pass  the  night  in  the  woods.  Waked  towards 
morning  by  a  panther  prowling  near  us.  Could  have  shot 
him  without  trouble,  but  was  afraid  of  losing  my  arrow. 
Found  a  root  resembling  the  onion,  which  I  concluded  must 
be  a  species  of  garlic.  A  little  of  it  occasionally  will  improve 
our  soup. 

4-tk.  —  Garlic  in  our  soup  to-day,  but  Alice  does  not  like 
it.  I  magnanimously  resolved  never  to  use  any  more,  and 
we  had  quite  a  little  dispute  about  it,  Alice  insisting  that  it 
made  no  difference  to  her  one  way  or  the  other,  and  that  she 
thought  it  a  pity  if  I  could  not  have  what  I  liked.  So  at 
last  I  yielded,  but  I  feel  perfectly  sure  that  I  shall  never  be 
able  to  find  another  morsel,  if  I  work  ever  so  hard,  which  I 
have  no  thoughts  of  doing  either. 

\lth.  —  Provided  ourselves  with  torches,  made  of  a  fatty 
wood  I  found  not  far  from  our  house,  and  went  with  Alice  to 
explore  the  cavern.  Could  not  find  the  entrance. 


MY   JOURNAL.  307 

19th.  — Tried  again  to  find  the  cavern,  but  did  not  succeed. 

2Qtk.  —  Found  the  cavern  at  last,  about  three  miles  from 
home ;  marked  the  spot  carefully,  so  that  we  might  have  no 
further  difficulty,  intending  to  return  to-morrow  with  our 
torches. 

"1'ld.  —  Explored  the  cavern,  that  is,  a  small  part  of  it ;  for 
its  extent  is  so  prodigious  that  we  could  not  go  through  all  its 
chambers,  I  am  satisfied,  in  less  than  a  week.  My  escape 
from  it  now  seems  little  less  than  a  miracle.  But  its  beauty 
and  magnificence  are  even  more  surprising  than  its  extent. 
Seen  by  the  light  of  our  torches  it  infinitely  surpasses  anything 
of  which  I  had  previously  formed  any  conception. 

*##*  #  *  *  # 

21th  —  Took  advantage  of  a  very  loving  mood  in  which 
Alice  seemed  to  be  to-day,  and  obtained  from  her  a  promise 
to  be  married  on  the  1st  of  September,  if  nothing  happened 
previous  to  that  time.  It  has  made  me  so  happy  that  I  can 
think  of  nothing  elsQ. 

Aiiyust  bth.  —  Spent  the  morning  in  gathering  figs.  Alice 
suggested  that  Hamlet  ought  to  help  us  bring  them  home,  and 
though  I  was  rather  afraid  of  hurting  his  dignity  by  the  pro 
posal,  I  told  her  that,  if  she  would  make  a  couple  of  panniers, 
I  thought  I  could  persuade  him  to  carry  them. 

I4tk. —  Alice  finished  her  panniers  yesterday,  and  to-day 
I  explained  to  Hamlet  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  in 
tended.  To  my  surprise  he  made  not  the  slightest  objection, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  seemed  rather  pleased  at  the  idea  of  being 
useful.  He  thus  shows  the  greatness  of  his  mind  even  in  trifles. 

ISM.  —  Began  to  carve  a  few  spoons  out  of  wood.  Thus 
far  we  have  used  shells  thrust  into  a  cleft  stick,  but  Alice 
thinks  it  is  time  now  to  have  something  better. 

23d.  —  Finished  my  spoons,  which  are  really  very  credit- 


308  THE    NEW   AGE    OF   GOLD. 

able,  and  set  to  work  on  some  wooden  forks.  We  need  some 
thing  of  the  sort  very  much,  especially  in  eating  meat. 

24th.  —  The  time  has  nearly  come  when,  according  to  her 
promise,  I  am  to  claim  Alice  as  my  bride.  It  is  easy  to  see 
that  she  thinks  of  nothing  else.  She  is  at  times  evidently 
very  unhappy  about  it;  and  I  sometimes  doubt  whether  I 
ought  not  to  free  her  from  the  obligation.  It  is  only  the 
fear  of  losing  her,  or  rather  of  her  losing  me,  that  reconciles 
me  to  this  seeming  cruelty.  I  am  trying  to  think  of  some 
thing  that  I  can  give  her  as  a  bridal  present. 

30M.  —  Made  a  necklace  of  red  and  white  berries  to  give 
to  Alice.  If  the  value  of  a  thing  depends  upon  the  labor  ex 
pended  upon  it,  then  this  gift,  trifling  as  it  seems,  is  far  from 
being  contemptible.  I  walked  at  least  fifty  miles  to  find  these 
berries  (that  is, the  red  ones,  for  the  white  are  plenty).  They 
are  very  hard,  of  about  the  color  of  red  coral,  and  nearly  as 
big  as  filberts.  When  strung  alternately  with  the  white,  they 
make  a  very  handsome  appearance.  Alice  was  quite  as  much 
pleased  with  them  as  I  could  have  wished.  She  has  been 
very  busy  lately  about  her  dress. 

September  1st,  1844.  —  To-day  is  my  wedding  day ;  in  some 
respects  the  happiest,  in  others  the  saddest  of  my  life.  Yet 
I  know  not  why  I  should  feel  sad.  Alice  was  dressed  more  be 
comingly  than  I  had  ever  seen  her  before.  Her  trousers,  of 
pale  yellow,  and  made  very  loose,  gathered  at  the  ankle,  and 
falling  down  over  the  foot.  Her  vest  is  purple,  and  her  coat 
or  tunic,  of  a  delicate  pink,  or  pearl-gray  she  calls  it,  secured 
at  the  waist  with  a  purple  sash,  bordered  with  a  deep  fringe. 
There  is  a  heavy  fringe  on  the  sleeves  of  her  coat,  and  also  on 
the  outer  seams  of  her  trousers.  Her  slippers,  prettier  than 
Cinderella's,  are  of  red  morocco,  or  so  I  call  it ;  my  necklace 
is  about  her  little  throat;  there  are  bracelets  of  the  same 


OUR    MAR1UAGE.  309 

workmanship  on  her  wrists,  and  a  cluster  of  white  flowers  in 
her  dark  hair. 

She  would  have  preferred  a  dress  with  less  variety  of  colors, 
and,  if  we  had  been  married  in  a  drawing-room,  I  should  have 
agreed  with  her ;  but  here,  in  the  woods,  a  different  style 
seems  to  be  required.  I  was  only  sorry  that  she  had  no 
mirror  in  which  to  see  herself;  for  I  was  sure  that,  if  she 
had,  she  would  never  have  wished  for  the  slightest  alteration. 

My  trousers  were  of  a  dark  wood  color,  and  my  coat  of 
olive-green.  Alice  selected  for  the  place  in  which  to  perform 
the  ceremony  a  sequestered  glen,  at  some  distance  from  the 
house,  and  where  we  had  often  resorted  to  escape  the  sultry 
heats  of  noonday.  I  had  discovered  this  spot  entirely  by 
accident.  Pursuing,  one  day,  a  wounded  hare,  that  fled  before 
me  up  the  mountain,  I  was  just  on  the  point  of  seizing  her, 
when  she  eluded  my  grasp,  and  darted  up  the  bank  of  a  small 
water-course  that  opened  a  narrow,  winding  path  into  the 
tangled  mazes  of  the  forest.  I  followed,  as  fast  as  I  could,  in 
the  same  direction,  and  presently,  passing  under  a  low  arch  of 
stone,  came  out  into  the  loveliest  spot  that  eye  ever  rested  on. 

It  was  a  little  chamber  among  the  rocks,  scarcely  bigger 
than  a  lady's  boudoir,  carpeted  with  the  softest  turf,  and 
decked  about  with  the  rarest  flowers.  The  solid  walls,  rising 
far  above  my  head,  were  fashioned,  here  and  there,  into  rustic 
seats  and  couches,  cushioned  with  mosses,  on  which  the  wood- 
nymphs  love  to  stretch  their  dainty  limbs.  The  lofty  ceiling 
of  trees  and  clustering  vines  even  the  too  curious  sun  could 
find  no  place  to  peep  through.  In  the  centre  a  little  bubbling 
fountain  diffused  around  a  delicious  coolness. 

Here  we  exchanged  our  marriage  vows,  while  Hamlet 
looked  gravely  on.  Kneeling  both  together  on  the  green  turf, 
I  repeated  aloud  the  following  prayer  :  "  Our  Father  who  art 


310  THE   NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 

in  heaven  ;  thou  art  still  our  Father,  though  we  have  wandered 
so  far  from  our  earthly  home.  Thou  art  as  much  in  this 
desert  island  as  in  the  crowded  city ;  we  cannot  escape  from 
thy  presence ;  thine  eye  is  still  upon  us ;  we  are  everywhere 
subject  to  thy  law.  Show  us,  then,  we  beseech  thee,  all  that 
is  in  our  hearts ;  and  if  the  step,  which  we  are  about  to  take, 
is  contrary  to  thy  holy  will,  give  us  grace  to  perceive  arid 
acknowledge  our  error,  and  power  to  resist  every  temptation  ; 
but,  if  it  is  right  in  thy  sight,  may  thy  blessing  be  upon  it, 
and  may  a  consciousness  of  thy  favor  fill  our  hearts  with  joy 
and  peace.  Amen." 

"  I,  then,  Robert  Dexter  Romaine,  in  presence  of  God 
alone,  do  solemnly  take  Alice  to  be  my  wedded  wife,  promis 
ing  to  love  and  cherish  you  as  my  own  soul  till  death  shall 
part  us  ;  and,  if  I  am  ever  unfaithful  to  you  in  word  or  deed, 
may  God  forever  shut  me  out  from  the  kingdom  of  his  Son." 

Then  Alice,  in  her  turn,  repeated,  in  a  low  and  trembling, 
but  distinct  voice,  the  following  form  : 

"  I,  Alice  Cremorne,  in  presence  of  God,  do  solemnly  take 
Robert  to  be  my  wedded  husband,  and  promise  to  love,  honor 
and  obey  you  until  death ;  and,  if  I  am  guilty  of  any  sin  in  so 
doing,  may  God  forgive  me  for  Jesus  Christ's  sake.  Amen." 

"  Now,  then,"  I  added,  "  we  are  man  and  wife  ;  and  what 
God  has  joined  together,  let  not  man  put  asunder.  You  are 
mine,  dear  Alice,  mine  for  time,  mine  for  eternity ;  now  don't 
look  so  sober  about  it ;  we  shall  both  live  many  happy  years 
to  thank  God  for  this  hour.  Come,  let  us  talk  about  our 
wedding  tour.  Where  would  you  like  to  go  ?  To  Niagara, 
or  Saratoga,  or  the  White  Mountains ;  or  what  do  you  say 
to  a  trip  to  Europe  ?  You  need  n't  mind  the  expense  ;  I  've 
a  whole  dollar  in  my  pocket." 

"  Well,"  she  replied,  smiling  through  her  tears,  "  I  think  I 


OUK    WEDDING    TOUR.  811 

should  like  to  go  to  Niagara.  I  have  never  seen  it,  you 
know." 

"  But  don't  you  think  that  Niagara  is  getting  to  be  rather 
an  old  story  ?  Everybody  goes  there  now." 

"  Suppose,  then,  that  we  go  to  Saratoga  ?  " 

"  Saratoga  would  do  very  well,  but  it  seems  to  me  it  is 
rather  too  public ;  we  should  be  all  the  time  beset  with  com 
pany,  and  never  have  a  moment  to  ourselves." 

"  True,  we  should  not ;  but  if  we  go  to  the  White  Moun 
tains,  we  could  be  as  retired  as  we  pleased." 

"  Rather  too  much  so,  I  'm  afraid  ;  and  then,  so  late  in  the 
season,  I  should  suppose  it  must  be  too  cold  to  be  pleasant." 

"  I  don't  see,  then,  as  there  is  anything  left  for  us  but  to  go 
to  Europe ;  and,  on  the  whole,  I  think  I  should  prefer  that 
to  any  of  the  others." 

"  True,  and  so  should  I ;  but  would  n't  it  be  better  to  wait 
a  year  or  two  ?  I  think  we  should  enjoy  it  quite  as  much  ; 
and  in  the  mean  time  I  know  a  very  pretty  little  cottage 
where,  I  have  no  doubt,  we  can  be  as  happy  as  the  day  is 
long." 

"  Where  is  it?"  said  Alice,  gravely. 

"  Come  with  me  and  I  will  show  you." 

"  To  the  nuptial  bower 

I  led  her,  blushing  like  the  morn.     All  heaven 
And  happy  constellations  on  that  hour 
Shed  their  selectest  influence  ;  the  earth 
Gave  signs  of  gratulation,  and  each  hill  ; 
Joyous  the  birds  ;   fresh  gales,  and  genial  airs 
Whispered  it  to  the  woods,  and  from  their  wings 
Flung  rose,  flung  odors  from  the  spicy  shrub, 
Disporting,  till  the  amorous  bird  of  night 
Sung  spousal,  and  bid  haste  the  evoning-star 
On  his  hill-top,  to  light  the  bridal  lamp." 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

Birth  of  a  Son.  —  Ilig  Infancy.  — My  Happiness.  — I  introduce  Him  to 
Hamlet.  —  Hamlet's  provoking  Nonchalance. —  Their  mutual  Affection. 
—  Alice  makes  a  Picture  of  Them.  —  Jasper  begins  to  talk.  —  We  are 
in  Doubt  about  his  Education.  —  Conclusion  I  come  to.  —  Jacket  and 
Trousers.  —  Battle  with  the  Crocodile.  —  Its  successful  Issue. 

SOME  eighteen  months  after  our  marriage  Alice  presented 
me  with  a  fine  boy.  At  my  suggestion  she  called  him  Jasper 
Cremorne,  after  the  name  of  her  grandfather.  The  little 
stranger,  the  first  child  ever  born  in  that  island,  was  nicely 
cradled  in  a  basket,  with  a  single  handle,  which  I  had  made  on 
purpose  for  greater  ease  in  carrying ;  but  other  conveniences, 
the  value  of  which  a  nurse,  only  can  appreciate,  were  not  so 
easily  supplied.  Nevertheless,  the  boy  thrived  and  grew  at  a 
wonderful  rate  ;  for,  though  there  was  plenty  of  fresh  air, 
there  was  not,  so  far  as  I  knew,  a  drop  of  medicine  on  the 
whole  island. 

The  cradle  was  slung,  most  of  the  time,  from  one  of  the 
rafters  of  the  kitchen,  just  high  enough  for  Alice  to  peep  in 
now  and  then,  as  she  was  busy  about  her  household  matters, 
and  for  Hamlet's  shaggy  back  to  give  it  a  gentle  swing  as  he 
passed  unconcernedly  beneath.  When  we  left  home  on  any 
errand  I  carried  the  basket  either  on  my  arm  or  lashed 
securely  to  my  shoulders. 


HAMLET    AND    JASPER.  313 

My  happiness  was  now  complete.  I  used  to  sit  for  hours 
in  the  door  of  my  cottage,  now  enlarged  sufficiently  for  that 
purpose,  dreaming  over  the  sacred  relation,  the  new  and  mys 
terious  tie  that  now  bound  uie  to  A'icc  more  firmly  than  ever. 
I  wondered  if  ever  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  (Jod  could 
have  devised  anything  else  so  perfect  or  so  admirable  ;  and  I 
shuddered  when  I  recalled  the  words,  "  In  heaven  they  neither 
marry  nor  are  given  in  marriage."  How,  then,  I  thought, 
can  they  be  happy  there  ? 

The  new-comer  had  hardly  time  to  open  his  eyes  and  look 
about  him  before  I  made  haste,  with  all  a  father's  pride  and 
fondness,  to  exhibit  him  tq  Hamlet.  I  had  been  long  antici 
pating  that  happiness,  and  pleasing  myself  with  fancying  the 
surprise  and  admiration  which  I  felt  sure  he  could  not  help 
manifesting  on  this  occasion  ;  but,  to  my  great  confusion  and 
disappointment,  he  received  it  all  as  a  matter  of  course,  and 
as  if  he  had  been  all  the  time  fully  aware  of  everything  that 
had  happened. 

There  was  a  comic,  half-ironical  expression  in  his  eye,  and 
about  the  left  corner  of  his  mouth,  for  that  feature,  as  is 
always  the  case  with  humorists,  was  a  little  awry,  that  seemed 
to  say  :  "  Aha  !  you  thought,  I  suppose,  that  I  knew  nothing 
about  it ;  but  I  know  more  than  you  think  for.  I  have  seen 
babies  before  now,  let  me  tell  you ;  though,  perhaps,  never 
one  quite  so  wonderful  as  this." 

However,  he  received  the  little  Jasper  with  every  demon 
stration  of  tenderness  and  affection  ;  and  the  boy,  on  his  part, 
as  soon  as  he  could  creep,  went  to  him,  as  the  saying  is, 
without  showing  any  sign  of  fear,  greatly  to  the  delight  and 
wonderment  of  Alice,  who  had  made  up  her  mind  that  her 
child  must  certainly  be  afraid  of  strangers. 

So  they  very  soon  became  great  friends ;  and,  after  a  while, 
27 


314  THE   NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD. 

finding  what  good  care  Hamlet  took  of  his  little  playfellow, 
we  used  to  leave  him  under  his  charge  sometimes  hours 
together.  And,  indeed,  it  was  impossible  for  his  own  mother 
to  be  more  solicitous  about  his  safety.  Hamlet  would  stretch 
himself  out  on  his  side,  with  Jasper  half  lost  in  his  shaggy 
coat,  and  then  it  was  delightful  to  see  the  fearless,  trusting 
confidence  of  the  one,  and  the  gentle  forbearance  of  the  other. 

Such  pulling  of  ears,  such  thrusting  of  fingers  into  eyes,  as 
were  then  witnessed,  I  should  have  thought  none  but  a  father 
could  have  put  up  with.  And,  then,  if  Jasper  strayed  too 
far  away,  if  there  was  any  risk  of  his  falling  into  the  fire  or 
into  the  water,  Hamlet  would  bound  after  him,  and  interposing 
his  huge  body  between  him  and  danger,  thus  bring  back  his 
little  protege  into  a  place  of  safety. 

When  Jasper  slept,  he  almost  always  made  the  bear  his 
pillow  ;  and  at  such  times  his  faithful  guardian  would  lie  for 
hours  in  the  same  position,  as  if  fearful  of  disturbing  his  quiet 
slumbers. 

I  often  wished,  when  beholding  them  in  this  position,  that 
I  could  take  their  picture ;  and  happening  to  speak  of  this 
one  day  to  Alice,  she  said  that,  if  I  would  only  furnish  her 
with  materials,  she  thought  she  could  make  one  without 
trouble. 

Upon  this  I  instantly  set  to  work  to  prepare  a  deer-skin 
that  would  answer  the  purpose,  and,  after  laboring  almost 
constantly  for  three  weeks,  I  at  length  succeeded  in  making 
a  sort  of  rough  parchment,  on  which  she  drew,  with  pen  and 
ink,  a  rude  but  faithful  sketch  of  that  charming  picture. 

Jasper  and  the  bear,  of  course,  occupied  the  centre  of  the 
foreground ;  on  the  left  appeared  our  kitchen,  now  grown 
into  an  apparently  solid  mass  of  verdure,  and  the  little  group 
of  cottages  half  hidden  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  great 


JASPER  BEGINS  TO  TALK.  815 

mangrove  that  bent  over  them ;  on  the  right,  the  valley,  the 
winding  river,  and  the  distant  sea.  The  hour  she  had  chosen 
was  sunset ;  and  the  level  rays,  now  robbed  of  their  too 
ardent  heat,  lingered  lovingly  on  the  child's  fair  head,  and 
among  the  closely-woven  curls  of  the  bear. 

I  was  so  much  pleased  with  this  picture  that  I  could  not 
rest  till  we  had  finished  several  others,  representing  different 
scenes  that  had  especially  excited  our  admiration ;  and,  after 
they  were  done,  I  covered  them  with  a  thin  coat  of  varnish 
obtained  from  the  gum  I  had  brought  home  with  me  ;  and 
then,  having  fitted  them  into  frames  of  bamboo,  I  hung  them 
up  in  our  little  parlor. 

But  Hamlet's  services  did  not  stop  here.  As  we  were 
sometimes  obliged  to  be  gone  from  home  a  whole  day,  and 
could  not,  of  course,  leave  the  child  so  long,  —  for  Hamlet  had 
not  yet  learned  to  feed  him,  —  I  constructed  a  basket  of  the 
proper  size  and  shape  to  fit  conveniently  to  the  bear's  back  ; 
and  now,  wherever  we  went,  he  carried  his  tender  charge 
along  with  us. 

By  the  time  Jasper  was  three  years  old,  he  had  learned  to 
do  without  the  basket,  and  rode  upright,  as  his  mother  said, 
like  a  little  man,  steadying  himself  with  a  bridle  passed  round 
the  bear's  nose,  and  kept  from  coming  off  by  a  strap  fastened 
about  his  ears.  When  he  was  tired,  or  the  trees  hung  so  low 
as  to  be  in  the  way,  he  would  let  go  of  the  bridle,  and,  weav 
ing  his  fingers  in  Hamlet's  hair,  lay  his  head  upon  his  shoul 
der,  and  in  this  position  sometimes  even  fall  asleep. 

Here  follow  some  extracts  from  my  journal. 

April  1GM,  1848.  —  Jasper  is  just  beginning  to  talk.  The 
only  word  that  he  says  at  all  distinctly  is  Hamlet,  and  at  this 
his  mother  and  I  are  both  a  little  jealous.  We  think  he 
would  have  learned  to  talk  much  sooner  if  he  had  been  where 


316  THE   NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD. 

there  were  other  children.  He  learns  fast  enough,  however, 
and,  indeed,  I  am  quite  frightened  at  the  responsibility  of  his 
education.  The  case  is  so  entirely  without  precedent,  that  few 
of  the  rules  and  maxims  prescribed  for  the  management  of 
children  seem  to  have  any  bearing  upon  it;  and  we  are  conse 
quently  obliged  to  make  new  ones.  Yet,  we  cannot,  at  once, 
free  ourselves  entirely  from  the  shackles  of  our  early  faith. 
We  have  begun  already  to  debate  the  question,  where  we 
shall  send  him  to  school,  what  studies  he  shall  attend  to,  and 
what  profession  we  had  better  choose  for  him.  His  mother 
says,  "  Let  him  be  a  minister ;  "  but  I  would  rather  have  him 
study  law,  or  else  be  a  merchant. 

"  Shall  you  teach  him  Latin  and  Greek  ?  "  asked  Alice. 

"  No." 

"  Mathematics  ?  " 

"  No,  nor  mathematics  ;  except  enough  to  count  a  hundred, 
and  perhaps  his  multiplication  table ;  nor  logic,  nor  philosophy, 
nor  metaphysics." 

"  What,  then,  shall  you  teach  him?  " 

"  I  shall  teach  him  to  run,  to  swim,  and  to  shoot  with  the 
bow  and  arrow  ;  to  make  shoes  and  baskets  ;  to  fear  God,  to 
speak  the  truth,  and  to  honor  his  father  and  mother." 

"  But  you  will  teach  him  to  read  ?  " 

"  Yes,  that,  indeed ;  we  must  not  let  him  grow  up  quite  a 
savage ;  and  then,  from  time  to  time,  we  can  teach  him  some 
thing  about  geography,  and  history,  and  similar  matters ;  but, 
as  for  the  wearisome  bondage  of  the  schools,  I  am  heartily 
glad  he  need  never  undergo  that  penance." 

"  What  a  pity,"  said  Alice,  abstractedly,  "  that  he  can  never 
go  to  college !  " 

"  A  pity  !  "  I  cried ;  "  what  a  happiness,  you  mean !  If  I 
had  a  thousand  sons,  not  one  of  them  should  ever  be  sent  to 


HEN'S  NEST.  317 

college.  The  world  has  run  mad,  of  late  years,  about  the 
advantages  of  learning,  and  the  cultivation  of  the  intellect;  it 
does  not  know  how  often  ignorance  is  bliss.  In  the  world,  to  be 
sure,  one  must  know  as  much  as  his  neighbors ;  it  is  something 
there  to  say,  I  can  read  Greek  and  Hebrew,  or  I  have  learned 
this  and  that;  but  what  possible  good  could  it  do  here  ?  No, 
no,  let  fools  learn ;  the  wise  man  knows  better ;  the  happy 
man  best  of  all.  Jasper  will  never  want  for  occupation. 

July  4th.  Alice  has  just  made  Jasper  a  jacket  and  trou 
sers  ;  and  the  little  fellow  is  so  proud  and  happy  that  he  can 
hardly  sit  still  a  single  moment.  He  is  all  the  time  running 
from  me  to  Hamlet,  and  back  again,  crying  out  "  See  my  new 
cose  !  "  and  just  now  he  asked  me  for  a  bright  cent  to  put  in 
his  pocket ;  though  I  had  never  said  a  word  to  him  on  the 
subject  ;  and  it  really  seems  as  if  this  passion  must  be  of  the 
nature  of  an  instinct.  I  remember,  however,  seeing  Alice 
laughing  slyly  at  the  time,  and  perhaps  she  had  something  to 
do  with  it.  I  had  no  cent,  just  then,  but,  as  it  was  Indepen 
dence  day,  I  gave  him  a  dollar  instead,  cautioning  him,  how 
ever,  not  to  buy  any  crackers,  as  I  did  not  think  he  was  old 
enough  to  play  with  powder. 

\~th.  Hamlet  has  grown  amazingly.  Though  not  so  tall, 
he  seems  to  me  quite  as  big  as  the  largest  ox  I  ever  saw ; 
and  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  would  weigh  at  least  two  thou 
sand  pounds. 

19/^.  Found,  to-day,  a  nest  containing  thirteen  hen's  eggs. 
The  mother,  who  was  sitting  on  them  at  the  time,  managed  to 
make  her  escape,  but  as  I  saw  that  the  chickens  were  all  ready 
to  hatch  out,  I  carried  them  carefully  home,  intending  to  bring 
them  up  by  hand.  If  I  succeed,  we  shall  soon  have  fresh  eggs 
in  plenty.  The  hen  was  rather  larger  than  our  common 
27* 


318  THE    NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 

breed,  but  sufficiently  like  it  to  show  that  she  belonged  to  the 
same  family. 

Sept.  10?A.  My  old  enemy,  the  crocodile,  came  very  near 
carrying  Jasper  off  this  morning,  while  he  was  sailing  boats 
on  the  lake.  If  it  had  not  been  for  Hamlet,  he  certainly 
would  have  done  it.  This  act  of  unprovoked  hostility  aroused 
all  my  former  hatred,  and  I  determined  to  make  a  second 
attempt  to  rid  ourselves  of  so  disagreeable  a  neighbor.  I 
accordingly  provided  myself  with  a  stick  similar  to  that 
which  I  had  employed  before ;  and,  privately  calling  to  Ham 
let,  left  the  house  without  saying  a  word  to  Alice,  who  is  just 
now  in  too  delicate  a  situation  to  witness  a  scene  of  such  a 
fearful  description. 

Hamlet  no  sooner  found  what  I  was  about,  than  he  entered 
into  my  plans  with  the  utmost  eagerness,  and,  indeed,  was  so 
impatient  to  have  another  brush  with  his  old  antagonist,  that 
I  could  hardly  persuade  him  to  wait  while  I  made  the  neces 
sary  preparations. 

Everything  being  at  length  ready,  I  stationed  Hamlet  at  a 
short  distance  from  the  shore,  telling  him  to  be  sure  and  not 
pull  until  I  gave  the  word  ;  and  then,  entering  the  water,  I 
advanced  boldly  towards  the  crocodile,  who,  on  his  part, 
seemed  equally  ready  to  receive  me.  His  former  experience, 
however,  had  not  taught  him  wisdom,  and  he  seized  the  stick 
as  ravenously  as  he  had  done  before  ;  but  no  sooner  did  he 
feel  the  sharp  points  in  his  jaw  than  he  darted  off  with  such 
sudden  violence  as  almost  forced  Hamlet  into  the  water. 

He  recovered  himself  bravely,  however,  and  sitting  upright 
on  his  haunches,  he  grasped  the  line  in  his  fore  paws,  and 
pulled  in  the  crocodile,  as  one  might  say,  hand  over  hand,  as 
if  he  had  been  used  to  such  sort  of  fishing  all  his  life ;  till, 
having  at  length  drawn  him  far  enough  out  of  the  water  to 


BATTLE    WITH   THE    CROCODILE.  319 

render  escape  by  flight  impossible,  he  dropped  the  cord,  and 
flung  himself  with  unexampled  fury  upon  his  amphibious 
enemy. 

Then  ensued  such  a  contest  as  I  had  never  before  witnessed. 
The  crocodile  no  sooner  felt  the  strain  on  the  line  relax,  than, 
turning  about,  he  commenced  making  the  best  of  his  way  back 
to  the  water,  keeping  his  tail,  all  the  while,  aloft,  and  flour 
ishing  it  about  at  such  a  rate,  that  no  bear  in  his  senses  would 
ever  think  of  venturing  within  the  sweep  of  so  formidable  a 
weapon.  The  crocodile  was  evidently  quite  as  skilful,  in  his 
way,  in  conducting  a  retreat,  as  General  Moreau  himself;  but 
he  had  to  deal  with  an  antagonist  who  was  equally  skilful, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  far  more  active. 

With  a  single  bound  Hamlet  placed  himself  between  his 
enemy  and  the  water ;  and,  having  thus  cut  off  his  retreat,  he 
now  compelled  him  to  offer  battle. 

For  a  moment  the  two  hostile  champions  stood  face  to  face, 
regarding  each  other,  perhaps, 

"With  that  stern  joy  that  warriors  feel 
In  foeinen  worthy  of  their  steel," 

and  the  next  moment  rushed  to  the  encounter.  That  is  to 
say,  the  bear  did  ;  for  the  crocodile  stood  stock  still,  only  he 
kept  all  the  time  brandishing  his  tail,  like  an  expert  player  at 
single-stick,  with  such  dexterity  as  made  me  think  of  the  fa 
mous  battle  between  Gurth  and  the  miller  in  the  wilds  of 
Sherwood  Forest,  But  I  had  not  then  much  time  to  think  of 
anything ;  for,  in  a  twinkling,  Hamlet  caught  his  unhappy  foe 
by  the  throat,  and,  turning  him  over  on  his  back,  ripped  open 
his  unprotected  belly  with  those  tremendous  claws  from  one  end 
to  the  other.  The  whole  thing  was  done  so  suddenly,  that  I 
had  hardly 'time  to  get  out  of  the  way;  and,  from  the  address 


320  THE    NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 

with  which  the  bear  went  to  work,  I  was  led  for  a  moment  to 
wonder  whether  he  could  ever  have  had  any  similar  experience 
before. 

I  concluded,  however,  that  this  was  impossible,  and  that 
his  conduct  in  this  affair  was  only  another  proof  of  that  as 
tonishing  versatility  and  readiness  to  adapt  himself  to  new 
and  unexpected  circumstances,  which  formed  so  prominent  a 
trait  in  his  character. 

I  must  say  I  was  rather  disappointed  at  the  sudden  termin 
ation  of  the  conflict,  for  I  had  hoped  to  witness  a  protracted 
engagement,  in  which  each  party  would  have  had  an  opportu 
nity  of  displaying  his  own  peculiar  excellences,  and  which 
would  especially  have  called  forth  all  those  infinite  re 
sources  of  which  I  knew  Hamlet  to  be  master.  But  the  slug 
gishness  of  the  crocodile  was  such  as  no  palliation  could  jus 
tify  ;  though,  if  he  could  have  got  his  mouth  open,  he  might 
have  offered  the  excuse  that  he  was,  after  all,  only  a  mari 
time  power,  and  neither  by  habit  nor  inclination  fitted  to  wage 
war  by  land.  If  he  had  said  that  to  me,  however,  I  should 
have  replied,  "  If  you  like  the  water  so  much  better,  pray 
why  did  you  leave  it  ?  " 

As  near  as  I  could  get  at  it,  the  crocodile  measured  a  little 
over  twenty  feet  in  length ;  and  I  verily  believe  that  a  single 
blow  from  his  tail  would  have  killed  an  ox;  but,  as  for  Ham 
let,  he  hardly  seemed  to  mind  it,  though  I  noticed  that  his 
right  shoulder  was  sore  for  a  week  after.  It  took  me  nearly 
the  whole  afternoon  to  dig  a  grave  large  enough  to  contain 
this  monstrous  carcass.  My  only  implement  was  a  wide 
scoop  made  of  bamboo,  and,  if  the  sand  had  not  been  very 
loose,  I  should  never  have  finished  it.  Hamlet  could  have  ac 
complished  the  task  much  sooner  with  his  broad  claws,  but  1 
thought  he  had  done  his  share,  and  was  ashamed  to  ask  him. 


HAMLET'S  STRENGTH.  321 

But  when  it  came  to  moving  the  body,  I  was  obliged,  once 
more,  to  call  him  to  my  assistance.  I  said  to  him,  "  I  will 
carry  the  tail,  if  you  will  carry  the  body ;  "  but  he  motioned 
me  to  get  out  of  the  way,  and,  flinging  the  crocodile  over  his 
shoulder,  walked  off  with  it  as  unconcernedly  as  if  it  had  been 
a  feather  bed,  while  I  hastened  to  inform  Alice  of  the  impor 
tant  victory  achieved  by  our  united  forces. 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

Birth  of  a  Daughter.  —Our  Happiness  still  on  the  Increase.  — Sight  of  a 
Ship,  and  the  Reflections  it  gave  rise  to. — Jasper's  Questions.  —  His 
Bow  and  Arrows.  — His  Boldness  as  a  Rider.  — Hide-and-go-seek.  —  A 
growing  Family. 

Sept.  23d,  1848.  THIS  day  made  Alice  the  happy  mother 
of  a  little  girl.  We  shall  call  her  Alice.  My  anxiety  on  this 
occasion  was  even  greater  than  before ;  but,  thanks  either  to  a 
vigorous  constitution  or  the  nature  of  the  climate,  she  has 
passed  through  both  these  trying  scenes  with  far  less  difficulty 
than  I  had  anticipated.  Certainly,  our  little  kingdom  is  grow 
ing  apace ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  my  cares  and  labors  in 
crease  in  almost  the  same  proportion.  There  are  two  more 
mouths  to  feed,  two  more  backs  to  clothe,  and  two  helpless 
children  to  look  after ;  one  of  whom,  at  least,  requires  her 
•mother's  almost  constant  care. 

Consequently,  I  am  often  obliged  to  leave  her  at  home,  and 
go  on  my  hunting  expeditions  alone.  I  should  not  mind  this 
so  much,  however,  as  Hamlet  I  know  is  a  sufficient  protector, 
and  the  joy  of  meeting  amply  makes  up  for  the  pain  of  separ 
ation  ;  but  Alice  feels  all  the  time  anxious  on  my  account,  and 
I  therefore  make  my  absence  as  brief  as  possible.  I  shall  be 
glad  when  little  Alice  is  big  enough  to  make  it  safe  for  her 
to  accompany  me. 


OUR   HAPPINESS   ON    THE   INCREASE.  323 

April  Ylth,  1849.  To-day  I  am  just  twenty-three  years  old. 
I  am  continually  amazed  to  find  how  time  is  flying.  It  seems 
hardly  possible  that  I  should  have  been  married  four  years,  or 
that  we  should  have  lived  six  years  on  this  island.  In  another 
six  years  I  shall  be  quite  an  old  patriarch,  and,  if  I  live  to  the 
ordinary  age  of  man,  I  shall  see  myself  surrounded  by  a  nu 
merous  and  happy  family.  I  wonder  if  my  name  will  ever  be 
preserved  in  history  as  the  founder  of  a  new  empire.  If  they 
should  ever  make  a  statue  of  me,  I  hope  it  will  be  given  just 
as  I  am ;  but  I  '11  warrant  they  will  have  me  with  a  smooth 
face,  and  dressed  in  the  height  of  fashion. 

Our  days  now  are  days  of  uninterrupted  enjoyment.  The 
morning,  full  of  freshness  and  vigor,  the  dreamy,  languid 
hours  of  noon,  the  glories  of  the  parting  day,  and  the  cool 
shades  of  evening,  —  I  can  hardly  tell  which  of  these  I  enjoy 
the  most.  But  when  Alice  sings  the  low,  monotonous  lullaby, 
till  Jasper  sleeps  to  dream  of  heaven ;  and  then,  when  she 
pours  out  her  full  soul  in  some  of  the  songs  she  learned  in 
girlhood,  and  which  I  like  better  every  time  I  hear  them,  I 
am  too  happy ;  the  intensity  of  feeling  becomes  almost  pain 
ful,  and  such  a  delicious  melancholy  falls  like  dew  upon  my 
soul  as  makes  all  common  joys  seem  dull  and  earthly  in  com 
parison. 

Then  I  recall  the  careless,  unthinking  happiness  of  child 
hood,  the  growing  sense  of  responsibility,  the  fearful  shudder 
with  which  I  plunged  into  the  ice-cold  sea  of  life,  the  disap 
pointments  and  mortifications  that  I  met  with  ;  and  wonder  if 
it  is  not  all  a  dream,  and  if  I  am  really  so  happy  as  to  have 
escaped  from  that  desperate  struggle. 

This  morning,  as  we  sat  on  a  lofty  cliff  overlooking  the  sea, 
we  suddenly  saw  a  ship  far  away  in  the  distant  horizon. 

I  cannot  describe  the  feelings  which  this  sight  occasioned. 


324  THE   NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD. 

Towns  and  cities,  crowded  streets,  the  ceaseless  hum  of  busi 
ness,  buying  and  selling,  wharves  and  warehouses,  —  all  civil 
ization  seemed  comprised  in  that  cloudy  shadow. 

I  heard  the  sound  of  innumerable  workshops,  the  rolling  of 
innumerable  wheels,  the  hammer  ringing  on  the  anvil,  the 
creaking  of  carts  and  wagons,  the  groaning  of  machinery,  the 
whirr  of  countless  spindles. 

The  nineteenth  century  was  drifting  before  our  eyes. 

All  the  refinements  of  art  and  luxury,  splendid  houses, 
costly  furniture,  tables  covered  with  gold  and  silver,  feasting 
and  merry-making,  the  laugh,  the  song,  the  dance,  the  ruddy 
sparkle  of  the  wine ;  and  I  heard,  too,  the  groaning  of  the 
prison-house,  the  stifled  sobs  of  weary  and  oppressed  hearts ; 
poverty,  and  crime,  and  shame,  creeping  in  and  out !  A  hide 
ous  living  corpse  ! 

Yet  did  I  feel  no  interest  in  the  world  we  had  left  ?  Had 
I  become  so  completely  indifferent  ? 

I  asked  myself  the  question. 

Yes,  I  should  like  to  know  who  was  president ;  what  was 
the  population  of  the  United  States ;  what  new  discoveries  had 
recently  been  given  to  the  world.  I  would  like  to  see  a  news 
paper,  to  read  over  once  more  the  familiar  advertisements  ;  to 
refresh  my  memory  with  the  names  of  persons  and  things  I 
had  once  known  so  well,  but  was  now  fast  forgetting.  I  would 
like  to  find  out  whether  our  friends  at  home  had  forgotten  us, 
—  what  conclusion  they  had  come  to  respecting  our  fate; 
and  I  would  like  to  send  a  letter  to  my  mother. 

I  felt  a  strange  curiosity  to  know  the  name  of  the  ship, 
whence  she  came,  and  whither  she  was  bound.  I  would  like 
to  talk  an  hour  or  so  with  the  captain,  to  astonish  him  with 
an  account  of  my  adventures ;  to  learn  from  him  everything 
that  had  happened  during  the  last  six  years,  and  to  wonder  at 


A  snip.  325 

the  miserable  condition  of  the  sailors.  Perhaps  he  came  from 
Boston ;  perhaps  he  had  known  my  father ;  he  might  have 
been  a  schoolmate  of  my  own. 

All  these  and  a  thousand  other  thoughts  came  crowding  into 
my  mind  at  sight  of  that  distant  sail. 

Jasper  saw  it  too,  but  it  awakened  in  him  no  such  emotions. 
"  What  is  that,  father  ?  "  he  said,  half  in  wonder  and  half  in 
fear. 

"  It  is  a  ship." 

"  A  ship  ;  and  what  is  a  ship  ?  " 

Having  explained  to  him  as  well  as  I  could,  with  his  imper 
fect  knowledge,  the  construction  and  uses  of  a  ship,  I  was  then 
called  upon  to  answer  a  hundred  other  questions. 

"How  many  men  arc  there  in  the  world?  A  hundred? 
Where  do  they  live  ?  Why  don't  they  come  here  ?  Why 
don't  you  go  where  they  are  ?  Why  don't  you  build  a  ship  ? 
Is  America,  as  big  as  our  island  ?  How  far  off  is  it  ?  Were 
you  born  in  America?  and  mother?  and  uncle  Hamlet?  How 
old  were  you  when  you  were  born,  father?  What  made  you 
come  here  ?  How  I  wish  I  had  a  ship  !  Can't  you  give  me 
one  ?  Is  n't  that  America,  off  there  ?  " 

Meanwhile  the  ship  had  slowly  faded  from  our  sight.  Alice 
and  I  looked  at  each  other  with  tears  of  inexpressible  tender 
ness.  Then  we  rose,  and,  calling  to  the  children,  returned, 
thoughtful,  but  not  sad,  through  the  winding  forest  paths,  to 
our  quiet  home. 

July  2>\st.  Made  Jasper  a  bow  and  arrows,  and  set  him 
to  shooting  at  a  mark,  as  I  think  his  education  has  been 
neglected  long  enough,  and  it  is  high  time  he  should  begin  to 
learn  something  useful.  He  is  a  brave,  sturdy  little  fellow,  as 
brown  as  an  Indian  ;  with  black  curling  hair  ;  and  I  have  no 
doubt  will  make  as  good  a  forester  as  Robin  Hood  himself. 
28 


326  THE   NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 

He  rides  Hamlet  with  as  much  grace  and  dexterity  as  if  he 
had  been  born  in  the  saddle,  though  the  bear's  gallop  is  enough 
to  unseat  a  Pawnee.  I  tried  it  myself,  one  day,  for  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile,  and  I  really  thought  I  should  have  been 
shaken  into  a  jelly. 

Oct.  9tk.  We  have  now,  every  day,  fresh  eggs  for  break 
fast  ;  though  our  fowls  are  so  expert  in  finding  out-of-the-way 
places  for  their  nests,  that  Jasper  has  as  much  as  he  can  do 
to  discover  them.  The  whole  matter  seems  to  be  nothing  more 
nor  less  than  a  game  of  "  Hide-and-go-seek."  We  have  now 
quite  a  numerous  family.  Besides  the  hens  and  chickens,  of 
which  there  must  be  at  least  fifty,  there  is  the  old  doe,  and 
some  younger  ones,  the  kangaroo,  a  couple  of  young  monkeys, 
equally  playful  and  mischievous,  and  a  hare  which  I  am  now 
engaged  in  taming.  All  of  these,  except  the  three  last,  are 
so  tame  that  we  let  them  go  where  they  will,  without  any  fears 
of  losing  them. 

In  the  morning,  when  we  first  make  our  appearance,  they 
all  come  flocking  around  us.  Alice  gives  each  its  accustomed 
portion,  —  to  one  a  fig,  to  another  a  bit  of  cold  meat,  a  yam 
or  two,  or  a  piece  of  cocoanut.  It  is  a  wonderful  thing  to  me 
to  see  how  they  love  us.  One  would  naturally  suppose  that 
they  would  prefer  the  society  of  their  kind ;  yet,  however  far 
they  may  wander  away  in  the  daytime,  a  mysterious  attraction 
is  sure  to  bring  them  back  at  night.  It  is  easy  to  see  that 
they  look  up  to  Hamlet  as  a  superior  being;  and  he,  on  his 
part,  though  he  sometimes  condescends  to  play  with  them, 
never  for  a  moment  forgets  his  dignity  and  self-respect.  The 
kangaroo- is  the  only  one  that  he  honors  with  his  confidence. 

Dec.  4th.  Cut  away  a  great  part  of  the  hedge,  because  it 
obstructed  our  view  of  the  lake. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

An  exciting  Adventure.  —  A  Ramble  among  the  Hills.  —  Hamlet  and 
Jasper  go  on  before. — A  fearful  Surprise. — The  sleeping  Tigers. — 
The  Pursuit. — The  Mountain  Valley.  —  A  desperate  Situation. — 
Hamlet  comes  to  the  Rescue. — The  Battle.  —  Sudden  Death  of  the 
young  Tigers.  —  Hamlet  hard  pressed  by  the  old  Ones.  —  Our  Victory. 
—  Hamlet's  Heroism. 

I  COME  now  to  an  adventure  that,  take  it  altogether,  was 
the  most  fearful  and  surprising  of  all  we  met  with  during  the 
whole  time  of  our  residence  on  the  island;  and,  though  so 
many  months  have  passed  since  its  occurrence,  I  cannot,  to 
this  day,  think  of  it  without  a  shudder. 

It  was  on  a  bright  and  cheerful  morning  in  May,  when  Jas 
per  was  five,  and  the  little  Allie  three  years  of  age,  that  we 
all  left  home  together,  to  explore  some  of  the  pleasant  valleys 
that  led  up  among  the  hills.  I  carried  Allie  on  my  shoulders, 
while  Jasper,  as  usual,  rode  the  bear. 

Our  way,  at  first,  led  through  the  same  well-known  paths 
where  we  had  so  often  been  before,  but  which  seemed,  on  that 
account,  hardly  any  less  delightful.  We  found,  indeed,  so 
many  points  of  attraction,  that  the  morning  was  nearly  gone 
before  we  reached  the  great  rock,  that  had  hitherto  bounded 
our  walks  in  that  direction.  The  country  beyond  this  was 
entirely  unknown  to  us,  and  I  was  therefore  desirous  that  we 
should  all  keep  as  close  together  as  possible ;  but,  just  as  I 


OZ5  THE    NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 

was  about  to  give  Jasper  a  word  of  caution  on  this  subject,  I 
saw  him  stoop  down  and  whisper  in  the  ear  of  Hamlet,  and 
the  next  moment  away  they  went  at  such  a  rate  that  they 
were  almost  instantly  out  of  sight. 

I  shouted  after  them,  as  loud  as  I  could,  but  they  were  both 
too  much  excited  to  pay  any  attention  ;  and,  as  it  was  utterly 
impossible  for  me  to  overtake  them,  I  had  to  make  the  best  of 
it,  trusting  to  Hamlet's  well-known  prudence  and  sagacity  to 
guard  his  young  master  against  any  danger  that  might  threaten. 

We  now  hurried  along  as  fast  as  possible,  in  hopes  of  soon 
coming  up  with  the  fugitives,  and  had  nearly  reached  the  end 
of  the  wood,  when,  happening  to  turn  my  eyes  to  one  side,  I 
saw  a  sight  that  fairly  froze  my  blood,  and  made  my  hair  stand 
on  end  with  horror. 

Under  the  double  shade  of  a  low  clump  of  bushes  and  a 
lofty  tree  that  stretched  its  branches  nearly  to  the  spot  where 
we  were  standing,  lay  couched  a  monstrous  tiger  and  tigress, 
with  two  half-grown  cubs.  From  the  position  which  they  occu 
pied,  I  had  a  full  view  of  their  vast  and  terrible  proportions, 
so  vast  and  terrible  that  the  one  we  had  previously  encountered 
seemed  hardly  as  big  as  the  smallest,  and  even  the  bare  and 
knotted  roots  of  the  grand  old  tree  above  them  left  no  such 
impression  of  power  on  the  mind.  But  all  was  still  as  a  pic 
ture.  I  saw  no  sign  of  life  except  a  single  leaf  stirred  by  the 
breath  of  the  nearest. 

Alice  at  first  did  not  see  them,  and  I  had  presence  of  mind 
enough  not  to  utter  a  .syllable,  hoping  that,  as  they  seemed 
asleep,  we  might  get  by  without  being  discovered.  The  involun 
tary  start  which  I  made,  however,  called  her  attention,  and 
the  next  moment,  her  eye  also  falling  on  the  sleeping  monsters, 
she  stood  motionless  as  a  statue,  with  one  arm  slightly  raised, 
and  her  foot  moved  forward  as  in  act  to  step,  while  her  gaze 


THE   SLEEPING   TIGERS.  329 

seemed  riveted  as  by  a  sort  of  fascination  on  our  fearful 
enemy. 

But  the  woman's  heart  was  strong  within  her ;  though  so 
deadly  pale,  she  neither  fainted  nor  uttered  a  word  of  terror, 
but  presently  recovered  her  spirits,  and  signed  to  me  to  go.  We 
crept  away,  hardly  daring  to  breathe,  starting  at  every  foot 
fall,  and  expecting  every  moment  to  hear  the  fierce  beasts  in 
full  pursuit. 

But  they  still  slept  apparently  as  soundly  as  ever.  It  was 
the  hour  of  noon,  and  the  forest  lay  hushed  in  profound  re 
pose.  The  drowsy  trees  scarce  held  up  their  heavy  arms. 
The  birds  were  dumb,  or  only  now  and  then  uttered  a  single 
note  as  if  from  uneasy  dreams.  A  monkey,  perched  far  above 
our  heads,  was  leisurely  eating  his  dinner  of  nuts  ;  and,  as  he 
threw  down  the  shells,  we  could  hear  them  rattle  among  the 
leaves  with  a  fearful  distinctness. 

"Ah,  rascal!"  thought  I,  "  you  would  like  to  wake  the 
tigers,  if  you  could,  would  n't  you  ?  It  would  be  fine  sport 
to  you ;  you  are  safe  enough.  But  why  could  not  we  save 
ourselves  in  the  same  way?  And  leave  my  darling  Jasper? 
No  !  And  perhaps  they  will  not  awake  after  all." 

We  had  left  the  forest  and  advanced  some  distance  out  into 
the  great  plain  lying  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  and  were 
already  congratulating  each  other  on  our  escape,  when  I  heard 
behind  me  a  sudden  and  tremendous  roar  that  seemed  to  fill 
all  the  air,  and  to  envelop  us,  as  it  were,  in  an  invisible  net 
from  which  there  was  no  escape.  The  earth  reeled  so  that  we 
could  hardly  stand  upon  our  feet.  The  great  heart  of  the 
island  seemed  heaving  with  sympathetic  throbs.  Even  the 
careless  wind,  struck  with  a  nameless  horror,  held  its  breath, 
in  that  dreadful  moment,  in  fear  and  pity.  But  they  could 
not  help  us. 

28* 


330  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

The  tigers  had  waked,  and  were  already  on  our  track. 
They  had  given  us  that  little  start  for  the  simple  pleasure  of 
the  chase.  They  had  sounded  that  horrid  war-whoop  only 
that  we  might  run  the  faster.  I  looked  at  Alice,  and  then  at 
the  little  girl  I  carried  in  my  arms,  and  shuddered  to  think 
how  utterly  impotent  I  was  to  save  them  from  the  dreadful 
fate  that  seemed  about  to  grasp  them. 

"  Suppose  I  should  leave  Allie  ?  Her  mother  and  I  might 
then  escape."  I  dwelt  on  this  thought  with  a  savage  joy,  for 
I  knew  how  impossible  it  was  that  I  should  ever  yield  to  it. 

And  then  I  cursed  the  bear,  in  the  madness  and  bitterness 
of  my  heart,  for  having  so  basely  deserted  us,  as  if  he  had 
been  conscious  of  our  danger ;  though,  even  if  he  had  been 
present,  it  seemed  scarcely  possible  that  he  should  successfully 
defend  us  against  such  fearful  odds.  Still,  our  only  hope  of 
safety  was  in  reaching  him  ;  and  anxiously  as  Wellington,  on 
the  field  of  Waterloo,  looked  for  the  coming  of  the  Prussians, 
so  did  I  seek  on  every  side  for  some  token  of  his  approach. 
But  all  in  vain ;  over  the  whole  plain,  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  I  saw  nothing  but  a  few  rocks  and  bushes,  and  a  herd 
of  antelopes  feeding  in  the  distance.  They  could  not  help  me, 
but  I  judged  from  their  utter  fearlessness  that  Hamlet  must 
have  taken  some  other  direction. 

At  no  great  distance  to  the  right  there  came  down  into  the 
plain  a  steep  and  narrow  valley  that  led  far  up  among  the 
hills.  There  was  nothing  to  show  that  Hamlet  had  gone  that 
way,  except  that  I  could  not  see  him  anywhere  else ;  but  no 
other  hope  seemed  left  to  us,  nor  was  that  any  time  for  balanc 
ing  probabilities. 

We  turned  and  fled  with  all  our  might  across  the  plain. 
Alice,  having  no  incumbrance,  except  the  axe,  which  I  had 
given  her  to  carry,  could  easily  have  outrun  me,  but  no 


A   DESPERATE    SITUATION.  831 

entreaties  could  induce  her  to  leave  my  side.  I  had  hoped 
that  we  might  reach  the  entrance  of  the  valley  before  the 
tigers  left  the  wood,  and  thus,  perhaps,  for  a  while,  elude 
their  .search  ;  but  we  were  one  moment  too  late.  Alice,  in 
deed,  had  already  gained  that  friendly  shelter,  and  I  was  just 
ready  to  follow,  when,  pausing  an  instant  to  recover  breath 
and  east  a  fearful  glance  behind  me,  I  saw  at  once  that  that 
hope  was  gone.  They  came,  one  after  the  other,  out  of  the 
forest,  like  fiends  hunting  a  lost  soul ;  and,  when  they  caught 
sight  of  us,  they  set  up  altogether  a  cry  of  such  delighted  and 
expectant  appetite  that  I  already  felt  my  bones  crackling  be 
tween  their  teeth. 

We  hurried  breathlessly  up  the  valley. 

"  Dear  llobert,"  gasped  Alice,  "  can't  you  run  faster  ? 
Give  Allie  to  me  ;  "  and,  so  saying,  she  would  have  taken  the 
child  from  my  arms  if  I  would  have  consented. 

"  Don't  wait  for  me  !  "  I  cried  ;  "  run  on  !  run  on  !  Hamlet 
must  be  somewhere  here ;  if  you  can  get  to  him  you  will  be 
safe." 

"  And  leave  you  and  Allie?     No  !     One  or  both  !  " 

"  The  bear  !  the  bear  !  "  I  cried  ;  "  run  and  bring  him,  and 
you  may  save  us  all.  Do  you  hear  ?  Good  God  !  why  don't 
you  run  ?  There  they  are  now  !  " 

And,  as  I  spoke,  the  foremost  of  our  pursuers  appeared  at 
the  entrance  of  the  valley.  His  deep-mouthed  cry  of  exulta 
tion  was  caught  up  and  repeated,  in  full  chorus,  by  his  com 
panions  behind.  They  were,  evidently,  certain  of  their  prey. 

My  fierce  entreaty  had  at  length  compelled  Alice  to  run 
on  before.  I  listened  eagerly  to  hear  her  welcome  cry, 
announcing  that  she  had  found  the  bear,  but  I  listened  in  vain. 

He  must  have  taken  some  other  path.  If  he  had  come  the 
same  way  that  we  did,  the  tigers  must  certainly  have  been 


332  THE   NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

disturbed.  I  wondered  that  I  had  not  thought  of  this  before. 
But  now  it  was  too  late.  Our  fate  was  sealed.  We  should 
never  leave  that  valley. 

"  0,  Hamlet!  Hamlet !  "  I  cried,  "  why  don't  you  come? 
Where  are  you  ?  "  and  still  echo  answered  "  Where  are  you?" 

I  turned  my  despairing  eyes  on  every  side,  on  the  unpity- 
ing,  remorseless  rocks,  on  the  trees  that  I  knew  would  help  me 
if  they  could  ;  but  I  heard  no  voice,  no  sound.  All  about 
us  was  still  and  silent  as  the  grave,  except  when,  now  and 
then,  the  mingled  roar  of  the  approaching  tigers  swelled  up 
the  valley. 

Already  I  felt  their  hot  breath  upon  me ;  every  moment  I 
expected  the  fatal  spring.  I  could  go  no  further.  I  sunk 
down  upon  the  ground,  holding  my  child  pressed  against  my 
heart. 

"  Mamma  is  calling  you,"  said  the  child,  "  don't  you  hear 
her  ?  " 

I  started  up  and  listened.  A  faint  cry  came  down  from 
among  the  mountains,  but  seemingly  afar  off.  I  pressed  on, 
reeling  and  staggering,  till,  turning  an  angle  of  the  valley,  I 
saw,  0,  blessed  sight !  my  noble  Hamlet  flying  at  full  speed 
down  the  rugged  pass. 

As  the  tigers  came  round  the  corner,  he  reached  my  side  ; 
and,  at  sight  of  this  unexpected  adversary,  the  tigers  paused. 
It  had  evidently  given  a  new  complexion  to  affairs.  They 
drew  back  to  reconnoitre. 

The  bear  also  seemed  rather  taken  aback  at  this  sudden 
meeting.  I  saw  him  turn  his  head  slowly  from  one  of  his 
enemies  to  another ;  and  I  am  just  as  sure  that  he  was  count 
ing  them,  and  forming  an  estimate  of  their  powers,  as  if 
I  had  heard  him  speak.  The  result  of  his  observations  was 
anything  but  comforting,  —  four  to  one  is  fearful  odds ;  and  I 


BATTLE    WITH    THE    TIGERS.  333 

saw  by  the  way  he  shrugged  his  shoulders  that  he  wished 
most  heartily  that  we  were  all  safely  at  home. 

Yet  this  was  all ;  he  never  for  a  moment  thought  of  desert 
ing  us,  though  he  might  very  easily  have  effected  his  escape. 
He  looked  at  me,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  Never  mind ;  you 
stand  by  me,  and  I  '11  stand  by  you ;  and  if  we  don't  teach 
these  dandy  yellow-jackets  a  useful  lesson,  before  we  are  done 
with  them,  why,  then  " —  a  most  expressive  shake  of  the  head 
filled  up  the  rest. 

I  had  not  lost  the  opportunity  afforded  me  by  this  moment 
ary  pause.  I  hastily  drew  Alice  in  front  of  and  between 
two  huge  rocks,  and,  leaving  her  with  the  children,  I  grasped 
my  axe  firmly  in  both  hands,  and  side  by  side  with  Hamlet 
calmly  waited  the  fearful  onset.  Some  may  think  my  coope 
ration  of  little  service;  but  I  was  tall  and  strong;  constant 
exercise  had  taught  me  the  perfect  use  of  all  my  muscles,  and 
the  axe,  though  dull,  was  in  such  hands  no  contemptible 
weapon. 

In  fact,  I  have  since  likened  myself,  rather  presumptuously 
perhaps,  to  Montague  standing  side  by  side  with  the  great 
earl  of  the  "bear  and  the  ragged  staff"  on  the  fatal  field  of 
Barnet. 

Hardly  had  I  made  this  disposition  of  our  scanty  forces 
when  the  young  tigers,  who  had  been  all  the  time  sidling 
about,  this  way  and  that,  as  if  to  discover  the  most  favorable 
point  of  attack,  came  leaping  towards  us.  I  had  already 
raised  my  axe  to  strike,  when  Hamlet,  taking  two  strides  in 
advance,  raised  himself  on  his  hind  legs,  and,  as  the  cubs  came 
within  his  reach,  he  dealt  them  each,  one  after  the  other,  one 
tremendous  blow,  that  stretched  them  senseless  at  his  feet. 

As  they  would  certainly  have  weighed  six  hundred  pounds 
apiece,  this  prodigious  exertion  of  strength  on  his  part  rather 


334 


THE    NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 


surprised  me ;  but  I  had  no  time  to  think  long  about  it ;  for 
at  that  instant,  with  a  tremendous  roar,  that  seemed  to  shake 
the  very  hills,  the  old  tigers,  stung  to  madness  by  the  sudden 
death  of  their  young,  hastened  to  avenge  them. 

They  calculated  their  distance  so  as  to  alight  upon  the  head 
and  shoulders  of  the  bear ;  and,  if  they  had  succeeded,  there  is 
no  knowing  what  might  have  happened;  but  Hamlet  just  then 
stepping  warily  back,  they  both  struck  the  ground  directly  at 
his  feet,  when,  before  she  could  recover  herself,  he  gave  the  ti 
gress  a  box  on  the  ear,  that  fairly  pulled  the  scalp  over  her  eyes. 
This  rude  salute,  however,  did  not  a  whit  abate  her  ardor,  and 
the  next  instant  they  both  flung  themselves  upon  the  bear  with 
such  fury  and  impetuosity  as  nothing  but  his  amazing  coolness 
and  presence  of  mind  could  have  enabled  him  to  resist. 

His  early  education  now  stood  him  in  good  stead.  Stand 
ing  erect  on  his  hind  legs,  he  threw  himself  into  the  posture 
of  an  experienced  boxer,  and  thus  kept  his  enemies  a  long 
time  at  bay.  He  seemed  to  know  that  it  was  his  policy  to 
keep  them  at  arms'  length ;  while  they,  on  the  other  hand, 
were  equally  desirous  of  closing  in  with  him,  when  the  advan 
tage  would  have  been  as  plainly  on  their  side.  All  the  time 
their  movements  were  so  rapid  that  I  dared  not  hazard  a  blow 
for  fear  of  its  being  ineffectual. 

But  the  violent  exertions  he  was  obliged  to  make  in  main 
taining  this  unequal  contest  were  at  length  too  much  for 
Hamlet's  endurance.  He  was  now  grown  decidedly  fat  and 
unwieldy;  and,  though  still  as  strong  as  ever,  had  lost 
somewhat  of  that  agility  for  which  he  had  formerly  been 
remarkable. 

In  this  respect  his  enemies  had  greatly  the  advantage.  In 
stead  of  relaxing  their  efforts,  they  seemed  to  gather  fresh 
energy  every  time  they  touched  the  earth.  Now  on  this  side, 


BATTLE   WITH   THE   TIGERS.  335 

now  on  that,  they  left  him  not  a  moment's  breathing  space ; 
till  at  last,  with  a  sudden  rush,  they  bore  him  backward  to  the 
ground.  The  tiger  assailed  him  in  the  flank,  and  the  tigress 
already  had  her  fangs  in  his  throat,  when  I  sprang  forward, 
and,  swinging  the  axe  once  round  my  head,  brought  it  down 
with  crushing  weight  on  her  left  ear. 

She  let  go  her  hold,  as  a  sleeping  infant  drops  its  toy,  and 
quietly  rolled  over  on  her  side,  where  she  lay  as  dead  as  the 
stones  on  which  she  rested. 

Hamlet  was  thus  relieved  from  one  of  his  enemies,  and 
seemed  disposed  to  make  short  work  with  the  other.  This, 
however,  was  far  from  being  so  easy  a  matter  as  he  and  I  had 
supposed.  The  tiger  was  an  enormous  animal,  nearly  as  heavy, 
if  not  as  large,  as  the  bear,  and  his  extraordinary  suppleness 
and  agility  gave  him  a  decided  advantage.  He  was  so  slip 
pery  that  it  was  a  long  time  before  Hamlet  could  get  hold  of 
him.  If  he  could  I  felt  fully  satisfied  what  the  result  would  be. 

For  Hamlet  was  not  only  a  famous  wrestler,  and  understood 
the  regular  Ilocky  Mountain  trip  to  perfection,  but  his  hug 
was  beyond  all  comparison  the  most  formidable  I  ever  saw, 
and  in  a  rough-and-tumble  fight  it  would  have  been  difficult 
to  find  his  equal. 

The  tiger  seemed  in  some  degree  sensible  of  this  fact,  and 
for  a  long,  time  took  good  care  not  to  venture  within  the  em 
brace  of  those  tremendous  paws ;  but  this  mode  of  fighting 
was  not  at  all  suited  to  his  rash  and  fiery  nature,  and  he  was 
evidently  meditating  some  more  decisive  action.  He  retired 
a  few  steps,  as  if  about  to  leave  the  field,  then  suddenly  turn 
ing  he  made  such  a  quick  and  unexpected  onset  as  took  the 
bear  entirely  by  surprise,  and  fairly  laid  him  on  his  back. 

But  this  position  was,  perhaps,  the  most  formidable  he 
could  assume ;  and  as  the  tiger,  whose  coolness  and  self-pos- 


336  THE   NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD. 

session  seemed  now  wholly  to  have  deserted  him,  stooped  to 
seize  his  prostrate  foe  by  the  throat,  the  bear  made  a  sudden 
turn  or  twist,  so  quick  that  I  could  not  see  exactly  how,  and 
in  an  instant  had  the  tiger  round  the  waist,  with  his  right  side 
drawn  closely  against  his  own  breast. 

As  soon  as  I. saw  that,  I  knew  that  the  battle  was  as  good 
as  ended.  That  terrible  hug  would  never  relax.  The  bear 
would  never  release  his  enemy,  until  he  handed  him  over  into 
the  arms  of  death. 

Yet  the  struggles  of  the  tiger  were  almost  incredible  to  -be 
hold,  so  that  all  I  had  seen  before  now  seemed  little  more 
than  child's  play  in  comparison.  His  writhing  and  twisting, 
the  swelling  of  his  enormous  muscles,  the  wrinkling  of  his 
loose  and  velvet  skin,  now,  however,  matted  with  blood  and 
dust,  the  bowels  protruding  from  his  lacerated  side,  the  blood 
shot  glare  of  his  eye,  the  gnashing  of  his  teeth,  and  the  ter 
rible  malignity  communicated  to  his  expression  by  the  con 
stant  withdrawal  of  his  lips,  covered  with  bloody  foam,  —  I 
hope  in  mercy  I  may  never  see  such  a  sight  again. 

Never  in  the  arena  of  old  Spain,  nor  in  the  bloodier  amphi 
theatre  of  Home,  save  when  some  family  of  martyrs  sealed 
their  faith  with  their  lives,  had  such  a  spectacle  been  wit 
nessed. 

Yet  r.iy  gentle  Alice  saw  it  all, — •  couched  on  the  ground, 
with  her  infant  clasped  to  her  breast,  her  eyes  riveted  by  a 
cruel  fascination  on  the  dreadful  struggle. 

Jasper  standing  by  her  side,  pale  and  red  by  turns,  now 
cried,  "  Don't  cry,  mother !  "  and  now,  "  Father,  why  don't 
you  help  him  ?  Don't  let  the  tigers  kill  poor  Hamlet !  I  only 
wish  I  had  my  bow  and  arrow  !  " 

0,  my  brave  boy,  my  darling  Jasper  !  — but  no  matter. 

"  Hush,  child,  hush !  "  said  his  mother,  vainly  striving  to 
draw  him  nearer. 


HAMLET'S  HEROISM.  3o7 

I  needed  no  such  urging.  Standing  as  near  as  I  dared, 
with  uplifted  axe,  I  sought  an  opportunity  of  giving  the  tiger 
his  coup-de-grace  ;  but,  for  a  long  time,  the  movements  of  the 
combatants  were  so  rapid  that  I  feared  to  strike  lest  I  should 
injure  the  bear.  At  length,  however,  I  fetched  a  blow,  that 
lighting  on  the  tiger's  spine,  just  at  the  small  of  the  back, 
seemed  to  paralyze  all  his  lower  extremities,  and  so  far  dimin 
ished  his  activity  that  I  easily  succeeded  in  planting  another 
just  between  his  eyes.  Even  this,  however,  failed  of  the  de 
sired  effect;  and  it  was  not  till  I  had  repeated  the  blow 
nearly  a  dozen  times  that  he  finally  gave  up  the  unequal  con 
test,  and  breathed  out  his  fierce  and  revengeful  soul. 

Then  the  bear  unloosed  his  hold,  and,  retiring  to  a  short 
distance,  we  both  stood  and  gazed,  as  if  fearful  lest  our  impla 
cable  enemy  should  after  all  return  again  to  life. 

All  the  while  the  battle  lasted,  the  mountains  had  echoed 
with  the  cries  and  yells  of  the  tigers  ;  but  Hamlet,  true  to  his 
nature,  hardly  uttered  a  sound.  But  his  eye,  usually  so  dull, 
was  now  lighted  up  with  a  strange  and  terrible  joy.  A  set 
and  stubborn  resolution  marked  every  movement. 

Such,  I  ween,  were  the  three  hundred  who  fell  at  Thermop 
ylae,  such  the  soldiers  of  Cromwell,  and  such  the  heroes  who 
achieved  our  independence.  But  Hamlet  had  not  come  off 
entirely  unharmed.  The  thickness  of  his  coat  had  indeed 
saved  him  from  any  mortal  injury,  but  he  was  dreadfully  lac 
erated  about  the  head,  and  it  was  a  long  time  before  he  had 
wholly  recovered  from  his  wounds.  Indeed,  he  never  fully  re 
gained  the  use  of  his  hind  leg,  and  to  this  day  a  slight  limp  is 
perceptible  in  his  walk. 

So  far,  however,  from  being  ashamed  of  this  circumstance, 
he  seems  rather  to  regard  it  as  a  matter  of  pride  and  exulta 
tion,  and  so  I  am  sure  he  ought ;  while,  for  my  part,  I  never 
29 


338  THE   NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 

see  him  take  a  step  without  being  reminded  by  it  of  his  gen 
erous  zeal  and  self-devotion  in  our  behalf. 

Ah,  my  noble  Hamlet !  dearly,  fondly,  I  love  thee ;  and 
nothing  but  death  shall  ever  dissolve  our  friendship. 

We  left  the  bodies  of  the  four  tigers  lying  where  they  had 
fallen,  and  hastened  to  leave  that  fearful  valley.  As  we 
walked  towards  home,  I  sought  in  every  way  to  soothe  the 
agitation  of  my  precious  Alice,  and  to  dispel  her  anxiety 
about  the  future.  Instead  of  feeling  any  fear  on  account  of 
what  had  happened,  I  told  her  that  it  ought  rather  to  give  us 
a  sense  of  greater  security.  We  now  knew  just  what  we  had 
to  fear,  and  on  what  we  had  to  rely.  There  was  not  the 
slightest  probability  that  we  should  ever  be  attacked  again  by 
so  many  enemies  at  once ;  and,  even  if  we  were,  I  had  no 
doubt  that  Hamlet  would  still  prove  more  than  a  match  for 
them.  And,  as  long  as  we  remained  at  home,  we  were  fully 
as  safe  as  we  should  be  in  any  city  in  the  United  States. 
Whenever  we  went  abroad  we  would  be  careful  to  keep 
Hamlet  constantly  by  us. 

"  So  cheered  I  tny  fair  spouse,  and  she  was  cheered, 
But  silently  a  gentle  tear  let  fall 
From  either  eye,  and  wiped  them  with  her  hair." 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

Our  growing  Attachment  to  our  Island  Home.  —  Jasper.  —  His  Ignorance 
of  the  World.  —  Anniversary  of  our  Landing.  —  A  pleasant  Ramble. 
—  Talk  with  Alice.  —  Jasper's  Pebble.  —  What  is  Gold  ?  —  My  Rhap 
sody.  —  Pair  of  Scales. 

NEARLY  a  year  had  passed  away  since  the  adventures 
related  in  the  lust  chapter.  Alice  had  forgotten  her  fears  ; 
for,  in  all  that  time,  nothing  had  occurred  to  excite  any 
alarm,  and  our  life  once  more  moved  on  with  its  accustomed 
regularity  and  quiet.  We  had  added  one  improvement  after 
another  to  our  style  of  living,  till  it  might  now,  in  many 
respects,  fairly  be  called  luxurious.  The  inconveniences  which 
had  at  first  annoyed  us  were  now  either  no  longer  felt  as  such, 
or  had  been  obviated  by  our  own  ingenuity.  We  had  formed 
new  habits,  fitted  to  our  situation  —  new  modes  of  thought 
and  action.  Whatever  desire  we  might  once  have  had  to 
return  to  civilized  life  seemed  completely  extinguished.  We 
asked  nothing  better  than  to  spend  all  our  days  upon  that 
island.  It  seemed  to  me  far  more  like  home  than  the  home 
we  had  left. 

The  rude  stone  table,  the  chairs  of  wicker-work,  the  fire 
place  by  which  we  had  so  often  sat,  the  trees  that  had  so  long 
protected  us  with  their  shadow,  had  wrought  themselves  into 


340  THE   NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 

our  very  being,  and  to  separate  from  them  would  be  like 
losing  a  part  of  ourselves. 

The  thought  of  returning  to  the  starched  and  artificial  life 
of  cities  was  every  way  repugnant  to  our  feelings.  "  No,  I 
am  determined,  come  what  will,  never,  under  any  circum 
stances,  to  abandon  a  life  that  has  for  me  such  charms  !  " 
Such  expressions  as  this  are  to  be  found  scattered  all  through 
iny  journal. 

March  ~Llth,  1852.  Jasper  is  growing  so  fast  that  his  mother 
has  as  much  as  she  can  do  to  make  his  clothes.  One  suit  is 
hardly  put  on  before  it  is  outgrown,  and  he  must  have  another  ; 
but  then  fortunately,  as  he  and  Alice  are  dressed  precisely 
alike,  the  same  clothes  answer  for  both.  Viola,  the  baby,  is 
yet  too  small  to  wear  trousers,  but,  whenever  she  does,  we  shall 
probably  have  to  pursue  the  same  plan  with  her.  But  no 
matter ;  there  is  no  one  here  to  laugh,  or  find  fault ;  so  we 
can  do  as  we  please. 

I  am  surprised  that  Jasper  has  not  more  curiosity  regard 
ing  that  great  world  which  he  has  never  seen ;  but  I  suppose 
the  reason  is,  he  knows  so  little  about  it  that  he  has  nothing 
to  set  his  mind  in  motion.  I  find  it  impossible  to  give  him 
the  least  idea  of  a  city  —  of  streets  and  houses  —  or  of  a 
thousand  other  things  that  are  familiar  as  household  words  to 
children  of  the  same  age  at  home.  Still  less  can  I  make  him 
comprehend  that  manner  of  life,  the  way  in  which  they  spend 
their  time,  and  the  objects  that  most  excite  their  passions. 
He  listens  gravely  to  every  word  I  say,  but,  if  I  am  ever  led 
to  suppose  that  he  is  beginning  to  understand  me,  he  is  sure 
to  propound  some  absurd  question  or  other,  which  shows  that 
he  has  no  more  idea  of  such  a  state  of  existence  than  we  have 
of  heaven.  But  it  is  quite  as  well  that  he  should  be  without 
that  knowledge,  and  I  do  not  know  why  I  am  so  anxious  to 


TALK    WITH    ALICE.    s  341 

teach  him.  He  knows  everything  that  he  needs  to  know. 
Though  only  six  years  old,  he  can  already  swim  as  well  as  I 
or  Alice,  and  handles  the  bow  as  if  Robin  Hood  himself  had 
been  his  master. 

Ju?ie  Wth.  To-day  being  the  anniversary  of  our  landing 
on  the  island,  we  determined  to  spend  it  as  a  holiday  ;  and 
accordingly,  after  breakfast,  we  left  the  house,  and  strolled 
along  leisurely  through  the  shady  forest,  stopping  now  and 
then  to  fill  our  hands  with  flowers,  to  listen  to  the  singing  of 
the  birds,  or  to  watch  a  troop  of  monkeys  gambolling  among 
the  branches.  Our  path  ran  along  the  uneven  country  lying 
between  the  mountains  and  the  valley,  and  was  often  crossed 
by  little  brooks,  most  of  which  were  nearly  dry  towards  the 
end  of  summer,  but  were  now  brimming  with  the  recent 
rains. 

By  the  side  of  one  of  these  we  sat  down  to  eat  our  dinner 
—  to  watch  the  clouds  slowly  drifting  over  the  trees,  and  tell 
long  fantastic  stories  of  fairy  land  to  wonder-eyed  Allie. 
Jasper,  who  could  not  bear  to  sit  still  a  moment,  and  w;is 
never  very  fond  of  stories,  was  amusing  himself  with  dabbling 
in  the  brook;  Hamlet  was  sleeping  in  the  shade,  and  the 
doe,  who  had  lately  conceived  for  him  a  violent  attachment, 
was  dreamily  chewing  her  cud  by  his  side. 

"  Ah,  my  dear  Alice  !  "  I  murmured,  "  would  it  be  possible, 
search  the  wide  world  over,  to  find  a  scene  of  such  perfect 
peace  and  happiness  as  this?  How  little  I  thought,  that 
bitter,  dismal  morning,  when  I  stood  on  the  wharf  in  Salem, 
almost  choking  with  the  agony  of  doubt,  home  beckoning  on 
the  one  hand,  and  stern  necessity  pulling  at  the  other,  that 
fortune- had  such  happiness  in  store  for  me !  And  then,  when 
I  saw  you,  I  dreamed,  to  Jae  sure,  of  one  day  calling  you  mine, 
29* 


342  THE   NEW   AGE   OF    GOLD. 

but  I  knew  it  was  only  a  dream  —  and  you  looked  at  me 
so  scornfully !  " 

"  0,  no,"  said  Alice,  "  not  scornfully ;  only  indifferently." 

"  But  that  is  almost  as  bad." 

"  But  how  could  I  help  it,  when  I  had  never  known  you'?  " 

"  And  when  did  you  first  begin  to  love  me  ? "  (I  had 
asked  her  this  a  hundred  times  already,  but  was  never  weary 
of  hearing  her  answer.) 

"  I  do  not  know  when  I  began,  but  I  know  when  I  first 
found  it  out." 

"  And  when  was  that  ?  " 

"  You  know  we  had  a  sort  of  quarrel  in  the  boat  about  — 

«  Yes." 

"  Well,  I  thought  that  you  treated  me  very  unkindly,  and  I 
felt  so  grieved  and  vexed  about  it  that  I  could  not  tell  what 
to  make  of  it,  for  I  knew  I  should  not  have  felt  so  once  if 
you  had  treated  me  ever  so  unfeelingly  ;  but  at  last  I  concluded 
that  it  must  be  because  I  loved  you  so  much  better  than 
before." 

"  You  are  not  sorry  that  we  quarrelled  ?  " 

"  Not  now." 

"  Nor  at  anything  else  that  has  happened?  " 

«  No." 

"  And  you  would  rather  live  here  than  anywhere  else  ?  " 

«  0,  yes  indeed,  a  thousand  times  !  Nothing  ever  makes  me 
so  unhappy  as  when  I  think  what  if  you  should  become  uneasy 
and  discontented,  and  wish  to  go  back  to  the  world.  I  know 
I  should  never  be  happy  there." 

"  Ah,  well !  my  lady-bird,  you  need  never  trouble  yourself 
on  that  score.  I  assure  you,  I  love  this  life  even  better  than 
you  can  do  ;  and,  as  for  going  back,  it  makes  me  fairly  shud 
der  even  to  think  of  it." 


WHAT    IS   GOLD?  343 

At  this  moment  Jasper  came  running  towards  us,  with 
something  in  his  hand. 

"  0,  father  !  "  he  cried,  "  only  see  what  a  pretty  stone  I 
have  found  in  the  brook  !  It 's  just  as  yellow  as  it  can  be, 
and  ever  so  heavy  !  " 

I  saw  at  once,  even  before  I  touched  it,  that  it  was  no 
pebble,  but  a  piece  of  some  kind  of  metal.  I  took  it  in  my 
hand,  and  was  surprised  at  its  extraordinary  weight.  It  was 
a  dull  yellow,  except  in  a  few  spots,  where  it  seemed  to  have 
been  rubbed  against  the  stones  :  about  as  big  as  a  hen's  egg, 
but  of  a  very  uneven  shape. 

Alice,  looking  at  it,  fancied  that  she  discovered  a  re 
semblance  to  a  serpent's  head  darting  from  its  coils  in  act  to 
strike. 

It  must  be  gold.  I  knew  of  no  other  metal  of  that  color 
that  was  ever  found  in  a  state  of  purity.  But  iron  pyrites,  I 
remembered,  was  sometimes  mistaken  for  it,  though  that  was 
not  nearly  as  heavy,  and  I  could  easily  tell  by  weighing.  I 
would  try  when  I  got  home. 

"  But,  father  !  what  is  gold  ?  "  said  Jasper. 

"  Gold ! "  I  cried,  "  gold  is  at  once  the  slave  and  tyrant  of 
man  —  his  worst  enemy  and  his  best  friend.  Nearly  all  the 
good  and  evil  in  the  world  have  been  accomplished  through 
its  agency,  or  for  its  sake.  Gold  is  a  panacea  —  a  deadly 
poison  ;  a  fountain  of  happiness —  a  gulf  of  misery  ;  a  blessing 
arid  a  curse.  Without  it  the  happiest  man  is  miserable,  and 
with  it  the  most  miserable  may  sometimes  be  happy.  Gold 
will  make  a  saint  a  sinner,  and  a  sinner  a  saint.  Gold  will 
unlock  prison  doors,  blind  winking  eyes,  overthrow  the  power 
of  kings,  silence  the  eloquence  of  senates.  With  it  a  man 
can  buy  others;  without  it  he  does  not  own  even  himself. 
But  what  have  you  to  do  with  gold  ?  It  has  no  power  here  — 


344  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

hore,  in  this  golden  land  of  the  sun.     Why  do  you  bring  it  to 
me  ?     I  hate  the  very  sight  of  it," 

"  Shall  I  throw  it  away,  father  ?     Will  it  bite  ?  " 

"  Bite  !  yes  !  like  a  serpent ;  and  sting  like  an  adder;  but 
keep  it  if  you  like  ;  it  cannot  hurt  you  here." 
»  lie  left  me  to  my  meditations,  and  went  away ;  but  pres 
ently  returned  again,  saying  that  he  had  found  another  piece, 
but  it  was  so  big  and  heavy  that  he  could  not  lift  it.  Curios 
ity  drew  me  to  the  spot. 

"  There,  father,  close  under  that  big  stone." 

I  stooped  down,  and,  having  with  some  difficulty  detached 
it  from  its  bed,  I  drew  the  glittering  toy  from  the  water,  and 
laid  it  on  the  bank.  It  was  a  lump  of  gold  and  quartz, 
shaped  very  much  like  a  boat,  and  weighed  altogether  several 
pounds. 

"  Gold  !  "  I  said,  "  more  gold  !  it  must  be  plenty  here 
abouts  ;  what  a  pity  that  somebody  could  not  have  it  that 
wants  it !  It  is  of  no  use  to  us  ;  but  I  should  like  to  try 
and  see  if  it  is  as  abundant  as  it  seems.  If  it  is,  I  should 
soon  be  rich;  and  digging  gold  is  much  pleasanter  than  keep 
ing  school,  or  studying  law,  or  standing  all  day  long  behind  a 
counter.  I  must  come  some  day  and  try  it.  But  first  let  us 
be  sure  that  it  is  gold." 

I  put  the  piece,  that  Jasper  had  first  found,  into  my 
pocket ;  and  soon  after,  as  it  was  now  getting  late,  we  turned 
our  steps  towards  home. 

That  same  evening  I  made  a  pair  of  rude  scales  with  a 
slender  piece  of  bamboo  and  a  couple  of  small  gourds,  and, 
having  put  the  lump  of  gold  in  the  one,  I  balanced  it  with 
a  quantity  of  sand  in  the  other.  Then  I  suspended  the  gold 
by  a  bit  of  leather  beneath  the  scale,  and,  plunging  it  in  the 


RESULT   OF   TI1E    TEST.  345 

water,  the  other  side  began  at  once  to  sink.  I  took  out  sand 
enough  to  restore  the  equilibrium,  and,  comparing  it  with 
what  remained,  found  that  the  metal  had  lost  about  one- 
twentiuth  of  its  weight.  Then  I  knew  that  it  was  gold. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

The  Curse  of  Gold.— The  Poison  begins  to  work.  —  Plans.  —  Dates  ver 
sus  Pearls.  —  Digging  a  Canal. —Building  the  Dam.  —  Making  a 
Trough.  —  Unsuccessful  Experiments.  —  A  lucky  Thought.  —  Weights 
and  Scales.  — A  golden  Harvest.  —  A  big  Lump. —The  Miseries  of 
being  rich. 

GOLD  !  Bright,  yellow,  sparkling  gold !  I  held  it  up  to 
the  light,  I  rubbed  it  on  my  sleeve,  and  poised  it  on  my  hand. 
"  It  is  very  heavy.  What  a  strange  pleasure  there  is  in 
feeling  its  weight,  It  must  be  worth,  at  least,  three  hundred 
dollars.  Ah  me!  how  many  times  I  can  remember  when 
such  a  sum  would  have  driven  me  almost  wild  with  delight 
But  now  it  is  of  no  more  value  than  so  much  sand,  and  I 
would  gladly  give  it  all  for  a  shovel  or  a  hoe.  In  Boston, 
how  many  things  I  could  buy  with  it !  And  there  must  be 
more  where  this  came  from.  Ten  thousand,  fifty  thousand, 
a  hundred  thousand  dollars  !  That  would  make  me  a  rich 
man  !  I  could  buy  a  fine  house,  fine  furniture,  a  fine  library. 
They  said  I  should  never  make  anything,  but  now  they  will 
find  that  they  are  mistaken." 

"  But  what  good  does  it  do  me  here?  " 

June  llth.  — I  waked  this  morning,  after  a  restless  night, 

with  a  sense  of  depression  and  uneasiness  such  as  I  have  not 

known  for  years.     Leaning  on  my  elbow  I  watched  a  long 

time  Alice's  peaceful  slumbers.      "  It  seems  to  me,"  I  said 


TILE    CURSE    OF    GOLD.  347 

to  myself,  « that  I  do  not  love  her  as  much  as  I  did.  And  I 
do  not  love  this  island  as  I  did  yesterday.  What  can  be  the 
reason  ?  "  Suddenly  her  fair  young  face  became  clouded,  as 
if  it  had  caught  the  reflection  of  my  own  ;  her  pleasant  dream 
land  was  invaded  by  storms.  I  wakened  her  with  kisses ;  she 
started  up  in  alarm,  but,  seeing  where  she  was,  became  calm 
again,  and  with  a  loving  smile  exclaimed,  "  0,  I  am  so  glad ! 
I  dreamed  that  we  had  sailed  away  to  the  United  States ;  and 
it  made  me  so  unhappy  I  could  hardly  keep  from  crying ;  but 
we  have  n't,  have  we?  dear  Robert !  But  why  do  you  look  so 
grave  ?  What  is  the  matter  with  you  ?  " 

"  Do  I  look  grave?"  I  replied.  "  I  did  not  know  it;  noth 
ing  is  the  matter  with  me." 

But,  somehow  or  other,  her  words  jarred  on  my  feelings. 

Just  then  my  eye  fell  on  the  lump  of  gold,  which  I  had 
placed  the  night  before  near  the  head  of  my  bed. 

Gold  !  false,  deceitful,  tempting,  corrupting  gold  !  My 
bad  feelings  seemed  to  grow  stronger  than  ever.  I  sprang 
from  the  bed,  and  seizing  the  shining  pebble  flung  it  with  all 
my  might  towards  the  lake.  It  struck  against  a  limb  of  the 
mangrove,  and  fell  to  the  ground,  where  it  shone  brighter 
than  ever.  My  resolution  was  exhausted  by  this  eflbrt.  I 
picked  up  the  gold,  and  placed  it  in  one  of  the  chinks  over  the 
fire-place.  "  Perhaps,"  I  said  to  myself,  "  at  some  future 
time  I  may  want  it." 

13^.  —  I  am  trying  to  devise  some  way  to  get  at  the  gold, 
which  I  am  persuaded  must  be  very  abundant  in  the  bed  of 
the  brook  we  visited  the  other  day,  and  probably  in  many 
others.  Alice  wonders  what  in  the  world  I  can  do  with 
guld,  and  urges  me  to  think  no  more  about  it ;  but  1  cannot 
get  it  out  of  my  mind. 

14M.  —  Thought  of  a  way  that  perhaps  will  answer.    I  in- 


348  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

tend  to  dig  a  canal  large  enough  to  carry  all  the  water,  and 
then  turn  the  brook  into  it.  This  will  leave  the  bed  quite  dry, 
and  I  can  work  it  to  much  greater  advantage.  Then  I  shall 
make  a  long  trough  of  bamboo,  for  a  part  of  the  water  to  run 
through  ;  and  by  throwing  the  earth  I  take  out  of  the  brook, 
a  little  at  a  time  into  this  trough,  I  think  the  gold  will  be  left 
entirely  clear.  All  this,  to  be  sure,  looks  very  much  like 
hard  work,  nor  can  I  imagine  why  I  do  it ;  but  so  it  is, —  gold 
asserts  its  power  even  here. 

I  remembered  to  have  read  a  story  of  a  man,  almost  perish 
ing  with  hunger  in  the  midst  of  the  desert,  finding  in  his  path 
a  bag  which  he  hoped  was  filled  with  dates.  But  when  he 
opened  it,  he  cried,  "  Ah,  they  are  only  pearls  !  "  Once  I  be 
lieved  this  story,  but  now  I  believe  it  no  longer ;  unless, 
indeed, he  were  already  rich,  and  in  that  case  the  moral  must 
of  course  be  lost.  If  he  were  poor,  he  would  certainly  never 
have  exchanged  the  pearls  for  dates  as  long  as  any  hope 
remained. 

\bth.  —  Began  to-day  to  dig  my  canal.  The  ground  is  for 
tunately  very  soft,  as  otherwise  I  could  do  nothing.  Even  as 
it  is,  I  make  but  slow  progress.  I  am  obliged  first  to  loosen 
the  earth  with  a  sharp  stake  hardened  in  the  fire,  and  then 
throw  it  out  by  means  of  a  shovel  or  scoop  made  of  bamboo. 
Alice,  finding  that  I  am  so  bent  upon  it,  has  ceased  to  dis 
courage  me  ;  but  she  seems  distressed  with  a  secret  uneasiness. 
I  do  not  know  how  it  is,  but  I  am  not  myself  nearly  as  happy 
as  I  was.  I  am  somehow  or  other  grown  strangely  uneasy 
and  dissatisfied.  This  morning  I  spoke  harshly  to  Alice  ;  the 
first  unkind  word  she  has  ever  heard  from  me  since  our  mar 
riage.  I  wish  a  thousand  times  that  this  accursed  gold  had 
never  been  discovered. 

July  $>ih.  —  Finishe^  my  canal    yesterday,  and  began  to 


BUILDING    A    DAM.  349 

build  the  dam.  This  task  will  be  far  easier.  The  canal  is 
three  feet  wide,  from  one  to  four  feet  deep,  and  nearly  two 
hundred  feet  in  length.  As  the  full  is  considerable,  I  think 
that  these  dimensions  will  be  sufficient,  though  the  brook  is 
itself  much  larger. 

9^.  —  The  dam  will  have  to  be  some  forty  feet  long, 
and  in  the  middle  perhaps  ten  feet  high.  My  first  step 
here  was  to  cut  down  a  tree  of  the  proper  size  to  form  the 
top.  "Without  Hamlet's  assistance  I  should  never  have  been 
able  to  move  it  to  the  spot;  but  he  dragged  it  along,  by  means 
of  a  kind  of  harness  I  made  for  him,  with  very  little  trouble. 
Having  thrown  this  tree  across  from  one  bank  to  the  other,  I 
cut  a  large  number  of  stout  stakes,  and  drove  them  into  the 
bed  of  the  brook,  with  their  tops  leaning  against  the  tree,  and 
then  filled  in  behind  them  with  stones  and  earth  till  I  had 
made  the  dam  sufficiently  tight  to  hold  all  the  water,  except 
a  very  little  that  still  found  its  way  through  the  bottom. 

13^.  — The  dam  is  finished,  and  the  water  running  through 
the  canal.  I  was  always  fond  of  playing  with  water;  and 
this  work  has  given  me  great  pleasure.  Above  the  dam 
there  is  a  lake,  of  considerable  size,  as  smooth  as  glass,  except 
towards  the  mouth  of  the  canal,  when  it  suddenly  shoots  away 
in  whirling  eddies.  The  leakage  is  very  trifling,  and  the  bed 
of  the  brook  nearly  dry,  with  the  exception  of  five  small  hol 
lows  which  I  can  easily  drain  by  deepening  the  channel. 

11M.  —  Have  been  busy  all  this  time  in  preparing  my 
trough,  about  which  I  have  altered  my  plans  a  little,  and 
concluded  to  make  it  of  a  big  log  instead  of  bamboo.  This 
operation,  though  it  required  so  much  time,  was  not  very  labo 
rious,  as  I  made  fire  do  the  most  of  it.  The  trough  is  ten 
feet  long,  about  eighteen  inches  wide,  and  open  at  the  lower 
30 


350  TUB    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

end.  I  bring  water  into  it  from  the  dam,  some  fifty  feet 
above,  in  a  long  spout  of  bamboo. 

22d.  —  Commenced  operations.  My  plan  does  not  work 
exactly  according  to  my  calculations;  in  fact,  it  does  not 
work  at  all.  The  finest  earth,  to  be  sure,  is  washed  out,  but 
everything  else  remains  in  the  trough.  I  see  now  that  it  is 
only  a  miniature  brook,  and  wonder  how  I  ever  could  have 
expected  any  other  result. 

23^. Set  the  trough  steeper  and  turned  on  more  water, 

and  now  it  washes  out  everything,  stones  and  all. 

24th. Pegged  a  small  cleat  to  the  lower  end  of  the  trough, 

and  succeeded  in  keeping  in  half  a  peek  of  stones  and  gravel. 
Found  also  a  bit  of  gold  weighing  nearly  as  much  as  a  silver 
dollar.  Am  quite  at  a  loss  what  to  do. 

2§th. Lay  awake  half  the  night  trying  to  think  of  some 

improvement,  Hamlet  sees  all  this  with  infinite  disgust,  and, 
if  it  did  not  cost  him  such  an  effort,  I  have  no  doubt  he  would 
read  me  a  severe  lecture  on  the  folly  of  my  conduct,  I  find 
his  society  becoming  rather  irksome. 

2Qth.  —  Looking  into  the  fire  last  evening  I  suddenly  con 
ceived  a  happy  idea.  Shake  the  trough.  Sure  enough  !  Why 
had  n't  I  thought  of  it  before  ?  This  morning  I  set  the  trough 
on  two  smooth  stones,  and,  the  bottom  being  round,  it  rocked 
as  easily  as  a  cradle.  But  there  are  so  many  stones  mixed 
with  the  earth  that  I  can  do  but  little,  as  I  have  to  pick  them 
all  out  by  hand.  I  find  also  that  there  is  a  considerable 
quantity  of  black  sand  mixed  with  the  gravel,  which  is  so 
heavy  that  water  cannot  wash  it  away  ;  and  how  to  get  rid 
of  this  is  a  puzzle.  This  sand  looks  precisely  like  what  we 
used  at*  home  for  sanding  letters. 

29th.  —  Covered  the  whole  length  of  the  trough  with  a 
grating  of  bamboo,  with  openings  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch 


WEIGHTS    AND    SCALES. 


351 


in  width.  The  water  and  gravel  sift  through  this  grating, 
while  the  stones  slide  down  the  top.  The  black  sand  still 
troubles  me,  but  I  can  begin  to  see  the  gold,  and  that  encour- 
a<*es  me  to  persevere.  It  is  mostly  in  minute  scales,  not  big 
ger  than  a  grain  of  sand  ;  though  there  are  many  pieces 
as  large  as  a  kernel  of  corn,  and  now  and  then  I  find  one  of 
the  size  of  a  walnut.  I  have  already  carried  home  over  two 
hundred  dollars.  It  was  some  time  before  I  could  think  of 
any  way  to  ascertain  its  value ;  my  jack-knife  is  almost  the 
only  bit  of  civilization  in  my  possession,  and  what  the  precise 
weight  of  a  jack-knife  might  be  neither  Alice  nor  I  could  deter 
mine.  At  length,  however,  I  happened  to  remember  the  dol 
lar  which  I  had  given  to  Jasper,  and,  on  my  inquiring  what 
had  become  of  it,  Alice  at  once  directed  me  to  a  cranny  over 
the  fire-place,  where,  she  said,  she  had  laid  it  up  against  a 
rainy  day. 

I  knew  that  a  dollar  weighed  nearly  an  ounce;  other 
weights  of  different  sizes  were  then  easily  added,  and  now 
every  evening,  on  arriving  at  home,  the  first  thing  I  do  is  to 
weigh  the  proceeds  of  the  day's  labor,  and  calculate  how  fast 
I  am  growing  rich. 

August  %th.  —  Found  a  way  to  separate  most  of  the  sand 
from  the  gold,  by  putting  it  altogether  into  a  large  gourd,  and 
plunging  it  repeatedly  under  water.  My  success  now  exceeds 
my  most  sanguine  calculations.  The  earth  continually  grows 
richer  as  I  dig  deeper,  and  the  gains  of  each  day  exceed  those 
of  the  preceding.  Last  week  I  made  no  less  than  seventeen 
hundred  dollars ;  and  this  week,  to  judge  by  the  way  it  has 
begun,  must  give  at  least  double  that  amount.  I  have  fitted 
up  a  little  rocker  for  Jasper,  and,  though  he  worked  not  more 
than  a  fourth  of  the  time,  he  made  in  three  days  just  fifteen 
ounces.  All  that  he  makes  I  allow  him  to  keep  for  himself. 


352  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

Of  course  he  understands  nothing  about  its  value ;  its  beauty 
is  to  him  its  only  attraction. 

\lth.  —  Reached  the  bed  rock  this  morning,  and  found  in 
a  single  hollow,  containing  perhaps  half  a  bushel  of  earth, 
a  little  over  twenty-three  hundred  dollars.  After  I  had 
got  it  all  out,  as  I  supposed,  I  went  over  the  bottom 
carefully  with  my  knife,  and  obtained  from  the  scrapings 
nearly  three  hundred  dollars  more.  I  would  give  a  thousand 
dollars  for  a  good  shovel,  and  half  as  much  for  a  hoe. 

'2otk.  —  Made  to-day  eleven  hundred  dollars.  I  can 
remember  when  I  should  have  been  abundantly  satisfied  if  I 
could  have  made  as  much  in  a  whole  year. 

27 th.  —  Made  only  fifty-three  dollars.     Quite  discouraged. 

2Sth.  —  Found  to-day,  while  digging  into  the  bank  of  the 
brook,  a  lump  of  gold  so  heavy  that  I  had  hard  work  to  lift 
it.  I  think  it  must  weigh  nearly  two  hundred  pounds.  As 
I  did  not  like  to  break  it,  and  could  never  carry  it  home  my 
self,  I  made  a  sort  of  drag,  by  cutting  the  fork  of  a  tree  in  the 
shape  of  a  "wishing-bone;"  and  then,  having  lashed  the 
lump  securely  on  it,  I  made  Hamlet  haul  it  to  the  house.  I 
was  so  much  excited  that  I  hardly  slept  a  wink  all  night.  I 
do  not  believe  that  such  a  lump  of  gold  was  ever  found  before. 
If  it  is  as  heavy  as  I  suppose,  it  must  be  worth  forty  thousand 
dollars.  If  I  could  only  get  it  home  to  my  mother,  how  happy 
I  should  be ! 

September  3d.  —  Fourteen  hundred  dollars. 

~L3th.  — The  gold  that  I  found  to-day  is  the  most  beautiful 
I  have  ever  seen.  It  is  of  the  brightest  yellow,  of  a  very 
uniform  size,  like  small  grains  of  corn  ;  and  there  was  enough 
of  it  to  fill  a  pint  measure.  I  keep  all  except  the  bigger 
lumps,  in  gourds,  and  have  already  filled  no  less  than  seven. 

October  1th.  —  Struck  a  rich  spot  this  morning,  and  in  six 


MISERIES    OF    BEING    RICH.  353 

hours  took  out  about  four  thousand  dollars.  This  is  more  than 
I  have  ever  made  in  a  day  before,  except  the  great  lump. 

i21s£.  —  It  is  just  three  months  since  I  began  mining.  Made 
a  careful  estimate,  and  found  that  I  had  taken  out  in  that 
time  $77,845,  besides  the  great  lump,  which  I  did  not  in 
clude  in  this  calculation.  This  would  be  nearly  one  thousand 
dollars  for  every  working  day,  which  I  should  once  have 
thought  very  fair  wages;  but  it  is  nothing  great,  after  all.  It 
would  require  sixty  years,  at  the  same  rate,  to  accumulate  a 
fortune  equal  to  John  Jacob  Astor's  ;  which,  to  be  sure,  is 
very  provoking,  as  I  do  not  expect  to  live  much  longer  thtui 
that,  and  should  like  a  little  time  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  my 
labor. 

It  vexes  me  to  think  that  so  large  a  sum  should  be  lying 
idle,  without  bringing  me  in  any  interest ;  yet  I  see  no  oppor 
tunity  for  a  safe  investment. 

"  What  can  you  ever  do  with  so  much  money?  "  demanded 
Alice  for  the  twentieth  time,  as  we  sat  this  evening  before 
our  cottage  door.  "  We  have  everything  we  want;  and,  even 
if  we  had  not,  there  is  no  one  here  to  sell." 

"True,"  «iid  I,  "but  there  is  no  knowing  what  may  hap 
pen  ;  a  ship  may  some  time  or  other  touch  at  our  island  ;  and 
then,  you  know,  we  could  send  a  portion  of  it  to  our  friends 
at  home.  How  surprised  and  delighted  they  would  be  !  " 

This  answer  was  enough  for  my  simple  Alice.  And  I  was 
glad  that  it  was  so.  I  could  not  tell  her  that  I  had  begun 
already  to  think  of  leaving  our  beautiful  island.  I  hardly 
dare  to  think  of  it  myself.  It  seems  almost  like  a  mortal  sin  ; 
yet  so  it  is, —  deliberately,  and  with  open  eyes,  I  am  about  to 
make  shipwreck  of  all  my  happiness. 

That  vain  ambition,  which  I  had  hoped  was  dead  within 
me,  —  the  desire  of  shining  in  the  eyes  of  men,  of  returning 
30* 


354  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

rich  to  the  place  I  left  so  poor,  of  triumphing  over  my  open 
enemies  and  pretended  friends,  of  startling  the  world  with 
an  account  of  my  adventures,  —  all  these  are  too  many  for 
my  poor  heart  to  struggle  against.  I  see  my  fate,  yet  cannot 
flee  from  it.  I  bid  a  long  farewell  to  happiness,  and  passively 
submit  myself  once  more  to  envy,  pride,  and  discontent. 

Yet,  why  torment  myself  unnecessarily?  Perhaps  a  ship 
will  never  come ;  or,  if  it  does,  think  how  happy  you  can  be 
at  home  ;  how  much  good  you  can  do  with  your  money ;  of 
the  pleasure  it  will  give  you  to  see  your  friends  once  more, 
and  to  walk  through  those  familiar  streets  ! 

Again  and  again  I  had  to  go  through  the  same  process  of 
reasoning.  Ah  me  !  if  I  had  only  listened  to  the  promptings 
of  my  heart !  but,  too  skilful  casuist  as  I  was,  I  succeeded 
only  too  well  in  the  task  of  self-deception. 

0,  that  accursed  gold  !  Curses  on  the  day  that  I  found 
it !  I  could  almost  wish  that  my  boy  had  been  in  his  grave 
before  he  ever  brought  me  that  fatal  bribe. 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

Origin  of  the  Gold.  —  Commencement  of  the  Rainy  Season.  —  Burying 
ID  y  Treasures.  —  Winter  Employments.  —Jasper  and  Alice;  their  Ig 
norance  and  Simplicity;  their  Idea  of  the  World.  —  What  is  a 
School?  —  What  do  Children  learn  for  ?  —  Want  of  Books.  —Condi 
tion  in  which  I  should  leave  my  Posterity.  —  What  is  the  most  essen 
tial  Knowledge  '.'  —  Growth  of  my  Plantation. 


.  1st.  —  MADE  the  last  week  only  six  hundred  and 
seventy  dollars.  The  gold  has  evidently  given  out,  and  I 
must  try  some  other  locality.  I  have  about  made  up  my 
mind  as  to  its  origin.  I  think  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
it  must  have  been  thrown  out  from  the  volcano.  All  the 
larger  pieces  have  unmistakable  marks  of  fire  about  them,  and 
plainly  show  that  they  have  been  melted.  How  long  ago  I 
cannot  tell  ;  but,  from  the  size  of  the  trees  growing  all  around, 
it  must  have  been  at  least  some  centuries. 

\%th.  —  Have  tried  a  great  number  of  other  places,  but 
nowhere  find  the  gold  in  anything  like  the  same  abundance  as 
in  the  spot  I  first  selected.  Another  brook,  lying  about  half 
a  mile  further  to  the  west,  would  probably  yield  me  ten  or 
twenty  dollars  a  day  for  a  long  time  ;  but,  after  doing  so 
much  better,  I  cannot  make  up  my  mind  to  work  for  such 
insignificant  wages. 

Soon  after  this  last  entry  the  rainy  season  set  in,  and  con- 


356  THE   NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 

polled  me,  though  reluctantly,  to  abandon  the  employment 
which  I  had  found  so  fascinating.  At  this  good  news  Alice 
could  not  conceal  her  satisfaction. 

She  hoped  now,  she  said,  to  enjoy  a  little  of  my  society. 
And,  at  the  same  time,  she  gently  reminded  me  of  the  state 
of  her  wardrobe,  and  how  much  she  would  be  obliged  to 
me  if  I  would  furnish  her  with  means  to  improve  it.  I  had 
been  promising  to  do  this  for  a  long  time,  but  had  been  too 
much  engrossed  in  gold-hunting  to  find  a  moment  to  spare  for 
anything  else. 

Now,  however,  I  was  ready  to  resume  my  former  way  of 
living.  But  first,  to  put  the  gold  out  of  my  sight,  and  to 
keep  it  safe  in  case  of  any  unforeseen  accident,  I  dug  a  hole 
in  the  floor  of  our  kitchen,  and  then,  bringing  out  the  gourds 
that  contained  my  precious  hoards,  I  carefully  deposited  them 
in  the  bottom,  and  covered  them  all  over  with  a  thick  layer 
of  leaves.  I  then  filled  up  the  cavity  with  earth,  and  stamp 
ing  it  a  long  time  with  my  feet  made  it  so  smooth  and  hard 
that  no  one  could  have  perceived  any  difference  between  that 
spot  and  the  surface  around  it.  The  big  lump  I  buried  in  a 
place  by  itself. 

After  this  was  done  I  felt  somewhat  easier.  The  winter 
passed  away  quietly  and  happily.  It  was  very  delightful, 
both  to  me  and  Alice,  to  watch  the  minds  of  our  children 
gradually  unfolding,  and  to  study  the  peculiarities  of  thought 
and  feeling  arising  from  the  novelty  of  their  position.  It  was 
so  different  from  what  either  of  us  had  been  accustomed  to. 
Their  world  was  so  much  narrower,  the  number  of  their  ideas 
so  much  more  limited,  and  those  they  did  have  were  so  sim 
ple,  yet  so  original,  that  they  seemed  like  no  other  children. 

They  listened  to  our  description  of  things  we  had  actually 
seen  at  home,  such  as  steamboats,  houses,  carriages,  and  the 


SIMPLICITY    OF    JASPER    AND    ALICE.  357 

like,  with  the  same  sort  of  interest,  and  the  same  degree  of 
faith,  that  they  felt  in  the  btories  of  the  flying-horse,  the  en 
chanted  castle,  or  the  wonderful  lamp.  The  one  was  no  more  a 
reality  to  them  than  the  other.  Their  sole  idea  of  the  world, 
and  one  which  all  our  teaching  was  unable  to  eradicate, 
seemed  to  be  that  it  was  an  island,  somewhat  larger,  perhaps, 
than  our  own,  —  though  Jasper  was,  at  times,  inclined  to  dis 
pute  even  this,  —  with  a  family  in  this  corner,  another  in  that, 
and  a  third  in  that;  with  narrow  paths  leading  from  one  to 
another,  and  a  round  pond  in  the  middle. 

When  I  told  them  that  there  were  twenty  million  of  people 
in  the  United  States,  they  were  not  surprised,  for  they  did  not 
comprehend  it ;  but  when  I  added,  more  than  there  are  leaves 
on  yonder  tree,  they  shook  their  heads  incredulously,  and 
would  not  believe  a  word. 

But  why  people  should  take  so  much  trouble  was  what 
puzzled  them  more  than  all  the  rest.  What  they  wanted  of 
so  many  things,  or  what  they  could  find  to  do  with  them,  was 
more  than  they  could  tell.  They  wondered  that  the  whole 
world  did  not  live  exactly  as  we  did.  They  wondered  still 
more  how  anybody  could  be  content  to  stay  all  his  life  in  a 
house,  without  ever  running  out  into  the  woods.  When  I 
told  them  that  in  many  places  as  big  as  our  island  there  were 
no  woods,  and  sometimes  hardly  any  trees,  they  wanted  to 
know  what  those  poor  people  lived  on,  and  where  they  got 
their  oranges  and  mangoes. 

Happening  one  day  to  use  the  word  "  school,"  Alice  de 
manded  what  it  was,  whether  it  was  something  good  to  eat. 

"  Not  exactly,"  I  replied ;  "  a  school  is  a  place  where  a 
great  many  little  boys  and  girls  go  together  to  learn  things 
out  of  books." 

"  What  are  books? "  said  Alice. 


358  TIIE    NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 

"  0, 1  know,"  cried  Jasper,  "  those  leaves  that  father  writes 
on  every  night ;  but  what  do  they  want  to  learn  for  ?  " 

"  So  as  to  fit  them  to  be  useful  men  and  women  when  they 
grow  up,"  I  replied,  happily  calling  to  mind  that  famous 
formula  which  had  been  so  painfully  impressed  upon  me  in 
my  own  school-boy  days. 

"  But  I  and  Alice  don't  learn  things  out  of  books,"  said 
Jasper. 

"  No." 

'  And  shan't  we  be  useful  men  and  women  when  we  grow 
up?" 

"  I  hope  so  ;  but  there  are  many  things  you  do  not  need  to 
know,  which  they  cannot  do  without." 

"Why  not?"  said  Jasper;  "why  can't  they  do  without 
them  as  well  as  we  ?  " 

"  Because  they  don't  live  as  we  do  ;  they  have  to  learn  to 
be  merchants,  and  doctors,  and  lawyers,  arid  mechanics." 

But  Jasper  still  demanded  "  Why  ?  "  and  after  I  had  ex 
plained  the  matter  to  him  as  well  as  I  knew  how,  he  was  still 
as  Far  as  ever  from  comprehending  the  advantages  of  all 
that  laborious  study. 

"  Can  they  climb. trees  any  better  after  studying  so  many 
books  ?  "  he  inquired. 

"No." 

"Or  swim  any  better?  or  run  any  faster?  or  shoot  any 
further  ?  " 

"No." 

"  Then  I  don't  see  what  good  it  does  'em." 

This  was  but  a  sample  of  many  similar  conversations,  the 
result  of  all  which  was  only  to  puzzle  Jasper  more  and  more 
completely,  and  to  impress  upon  my  own  mind  a  deeper  sense 


WANT   OF    BOOKS.  359 

of  the  intensely  artificial  and  factitious  construction  of  our 
whole  social  fabric. 

The  reader  will,  perhaps,  wonder  how,  after  living  such  a 
life  as  we  had  at  home,  we  could  be  happy  without  books. 
But  both  Alice  and  I  had  read  so  much  that  we  hardly  felt 
this  want  at  all.  Her  reading,  like  mine,  had  been  exceed 
ingly  multifarious.  We  had,  fortunately,  never  been  tram 
melled  by  what  is  called  a  regular  plan  of  study.  We  had 
read  poetry,  history,  biography,  travels  and  romances.  All 
these  furnished  us  with  endless  topics  of  conversation.  When 
the  books  which  we  had  read  were  the  same,  we  were  never 
weary  of  comparing  our  recollections ;  when  they  were  not, 
we  found  quite  as  agreeable  an  entertainment  in  repeating 
what  we  could  remember  for  the  amusement  of  the  other. 

But  with  our  children  the  case  was  widely  different.  They 
had  never  read  a  single  book,  and  of  course  had  no  stock  of 
acquired  knowledge  to  fall  back  upon.  And  then,  what  an 
immense  variety  of  subjects  there  were,  about  which  all  the 
reading  in  the  world  would  give  them  only  a  very  imperfect 
idea  ! 

All  this  knowledge  would  die  with  me.  Little  as  I  knew 
of  the  mechanic  arts,  I  had  still  sufficient  skill  to  have  pro 
vided  my  little  community  with  most  of  those  things  on  which 
the  welfare  of  society  chiefly  depends.  If  I  lived  long  enough 
and  had  other  hands  to  help  me,  t  could  make  clocks,  spin 
ning-wheels,  looms,  cloth,  knives,  spades,  printing-presses,  and, 
I  thought,  steam-engines  ;  —  that  is,  if  there  was  any  iron  on 
my  island,  of  which  I  had  little  doubt. 

But  Jasper  had  never  seen  any  of  those  things,  and,  of 
course,  could  never  make  them.  In  the  little  kingdom  that  I 
should  leave  behind  me,  the  arts  would  all  be  in  their  infancy. 
If  my  descendants  ever  acquired  a  knowledge  of  them,  they 


3GO 


TIIE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 


would  have  to  begin  at  the  beginning.  No  matter,  however, 
if  they  did ;  the  pleasure  we  derive  from  these  various  inven 
tions  is  after  all  in  the  making,  and  not  in  the  having.  But 
I  could  not  leave  them  entirely  without  assistance.  They 
must  have  something  to  start  from.  There  were  certain  rudi 
ments  of  knowledge  that  could  not  be  dispensed  with. 
These  I  would  write  out  on  parchment,  and  so  preserve  them 
for  the  benefit  of  my  posterity. 

But  after  I  had  prepared  my  parchment,  and  set  seriously 
to  work,  thinking  what  those  rudiments  should  be,  I  found 
myself  completely  at  a  loss.  Out  of  the  great  sea  of  human 
knowledge  I  had  carefully  to  select  the  minutest  possible  por 
tion.  The  alphabet  of  course  they  must  have,  but  after  that 
was  written  for  a  long  time  I  could  go  no  further. 

Then  Alice  suggested  the  multiplication  table,  and  I  added 
that  forthwith.  We  were  three  weeks  in  making  the  next 
step,  and  then  I  wrote  out  the  Lord's  Prayer.  This  natu 
rally  suggested  some  system  of  religion.  I  made  this  as 
brief  as  possible,  and  so  catholic  in  its  doctrines  that  no  one 
could  have  objected  to  any  portion,  unless,  indeed,  he  denied 
the  existence  of  God.  The  ten  commandments  followed,  and 
that  was  as  far  as  we  got  that  winter.  But  I  would  advise 
any  one,  in  want  of  an  agreeable  and  instructive  occupation, 
to  spend  a  few  hours  in  thinking  what  selection  he  should 
make  if  he  were  suddenly  to  be  deprived  of  all  knowledge, 
except  what  could  be  comprised  in  a  few  sheets  of  parch 
ment. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  this  employment  was  all  we 
had  to  occupy  us  this  winter.  Alice  spent  a  long  time  in  weav 
ing  hammocks  for  the  next  summer;  and,  as  for  me,  when  not 
engaged  as  above  stated,  I  was  almost  always  busy  in  some 
way  or  other,  in  shooting,  or  fishing,  or  making  shoes,  or 


GROWTH    OF    MY    PLANTATION.  361 

working  in  my  garden.  Here  we  had  pine-apples  of  the  most 
delicious  flavor  —  yams  in  abundance,  and  an  endless  variety 
of  shrubs,  trees,  and  flowers.  The  limes  and  oranges, 
which  I  set  out  the  third  year  of  our  residence  on  the  island, 
were  already  loaded  with  fruit.  The  palms  and  mangoes 
were  all  thriving,  and  in  a  few  years  more  our  little  cottage 
would  be  completely  hidden  in  the  midst  of  a  miniature  plan 
tation.  Some  wild  rice,  which  I  had  found  growing  in  a 
marshy  spot  on  the  bank  of  the  "  Mississippi,"  and  a  portion 
of  which  I  had  sowed  not  far  from  the  house,  was  even  now 
beginning  to  show  the  favorable  effects  of  cultivation. 

I  had  thought  our  island  was  incapable  of  improvement ; 
but  now  I  saw  that,  much  as  nature  had  done  for  it,  art  had 
made  it  still  more  beautiful.  Every  day  seemed  to  discover 
some  new  attraction. 

March  3d. —  Here  is  the  winter  nearly  gone,  and  I 
hardly  knew  it.  Certainly  time  never  flew  so  fast.  Nor  was 
I  ever  so  happy.  To  wander  away,  hand  in  hand,  down  the 
long  woodland  glades,  past  gray  old  mossy  tree-trunks,  under 
the  patriarchal  boughs ;  to  see  the  bounding  deer  by  the  side 
of  some  bounding  river  ;  to  sit  in  stormy  weather  and  watch 
the  clouds  roll  up  the  mountains;  to  listen  reverently  to  the 
low  muttering  thunder,  or  to  the  rain  pattering  on  the  leaves ; 
to  pile  great  heaps  of  wood  upon  the  fire,  till  the  flames  go 
roaring  up  the  chimney,  while  Jasper  laughs,  and  Alice  won 
ders  almost  to  fear;  to  study  with  philosophic  eye  the 
blackened  stones  that  I  know  so  well,  and  dream,  and  dream, 
and  dream  ;  —  this  it  is  to  live,  —  this  is  what  I  call  my  life. 
31 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

Rich  and  Poor.  — I  determine  to  leave  the  Island.  — Difficulties  in  tho 
Way. — A  happy  Thought.  —  Grief  and  Surprise  of  Alice.  —  Sho 
seeks  to  dissuade  me  from  It.  —  My  Selfishness  and  Cruelty.  —  I  begin 
to  build  a  Boat.  —  Description  of  It. — Search  for  Materials. — 
Making  a  Mould.  —  Launch  of  the  Alice.  —  An  unexpected  Difliculty. 
—  Rigging  our  Ship.  — Her  Cargo  and  Provisions. 

THE  winter  passed  quietly  and  happily,  and  never,  since 
we  had  been  on  the  island,  had  this  life  afforded  me  more 
complete  satisfaction ;  but,  as  the  spring  advanced,  my  old 
uneasy  feelings  came  back  stronger  than  ever. 

It  was  not  that  I  expected  to  be  happier  anywhere  else, 
but  the  idea  of  a  man  worth  over  a  hundred  thousand  dollars 
living  all  his  life  in  a  place  where  he  could  make  no  use  of  it 
seemed  so  absurd  and  preposterous,  that  I  could  not  in  any 
way  reconcile  it  to  my  understanding.  If  I  were  not  happier 
at  home,  I  ought  to  be.  Here  I  was  poor ;  there  I  should  be 
rich.  Money  was  certainly  supposed  to  constitute  the  prin 
cipal  difference  between  the  situation  of  one  man  and 
another.  It  could  not  be  denied  that  wealth  possessed  some 
kind  of  advantage  over  poverty.  Why,  then,  should  I  deny 
myself  that  advantage?  On  that  island  the  poorest  man 
would  be  as  happy  as  I ;  but  in  society  I  should  at  once  assert 
my  superiority. 


I   DETERMINE   TO    LEAVE   THE    ISLAND.  303 

I  determined,  therefore,  to  return  once  more  to  the  world ; 
for  if  I  were  no  happier  absolutely,  I  should  be  relatively  ; 
and,  with  this  determination,  I  began  deliberately  to  ponder 
all  the  various  chances  of  effecting  my  purpose. 

The  probability  of  any  vessel  touching  at  our  island  was  too 
weak  for  me  to  build  upon  it  the  slightest  hope.  Only  one, 
so  far  as  I  knew,  had  passed  within  .sight  of  it  during  the  last 
nine  years.  Its  inaccessible  shores  gave  the  mariner  no 
encouragement.  If  we  ever  got  home,  then,  it  must  be  by 
other  means.  Our  deliverance  must  be  effected  entirely  through 
our  own  exertions. 

But  how  could  I  ever  construct  a  boat  big  enough  for  such 
a  long  and  hazardous  voyage?  The  axe,  the  only  tool  in  my 
possession,  had  long  ago  lost  its  edge.  To  cut  down  a  tree 
large  enough  for  the  purpose  would  take  so  much  time  that 
the  tree  would  rot  before  the  work  was  done. 

We  might  venture  in  the  yawl,  which  had  brought  us  to  the 
island,  but  the  risk  would  be  fearful,  and  we  should  have  to 
leave 'Hamlet  behind.  Such  a  separation  I  could  not  think  of 
for  a  moment.  Some  other  way  must  be  devised,  or  we  should 
live  and  die  where  we  were. 

For  several  weeks  the  subject  almost  constantly  filled  my 
thoughts.  At  length,  not  to  weary  the  reader  with  an  account 
of  the  various  projects  that  presented  themselves,  one  after 
another,  to  my  mind,  I  conceived  a  plan  so  novel  and  extraor 
dinary  that  I  hardly  expect  to  be  believed  when  I  come  to 
describe  it.  Indeed,  I  doubt  whether,  if  I  had  not  seen  it 
tried  myself,  I  should  have  believed  it  possible.  Yet,  after 
all,  the  improbability  does  not  aii.se  from  the  nature  of  thing-, 
but  from  our  preconceived  notions.  In  itself  the  plan  was 
perfectly  simple  and  natural ;  though  the  first  conception  of 
it  may  seem  bold  and  startling. 


364 


THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 


Like  all  our  happiest  suggestions,  it  was  the  work  of  the 
purest  luck.  Alice  was  weaving  for  herself  a  cap  of  a  long 
tough  grass  that  grew  in  little  clumps  among  the  rocks.  This 
reminded  me  of  similar  caps  I  used  to  make,  when  a  boy,  out 
of  bulrushes  ;  and  that  again  reminded  me  of  the  ark  in  which 
the  infant  Moses  was  committed  to  the  waters  of  the  Nile. 

So  far  the  track  of  association  was  perfectly  obvious ;  but 
the  next  step  was  one  for  the  seven-league  boots.  If  Moses' 
mother  could  make  an  ark  of  bulrushes,  why  could  I  not  build 
a  boat  in  the  same  way.  Only  I  would  use  strips  of  palm- 
leaf  instead  of  rushes,  and  gum  instead  of  slime. 

It  was  just  after  breakfast  when  this  idea  suggested  itself, 
and  it  was  the  first  time  I  had  thought  of  the  subject  that 
morning;  if  that  can  be  called  thought  where  the  action  of 
the  mind  is  involuntary  and  almost  unconscious,  as  it  was  in 
the  present  instance.  Alice,  I  remember,  had  not  yet  left  the 
table.  She  was  leaning  back  in  her  chair,  with  the  hat  I  have 
just  mentioned,  held  up  for  my  inspection,  on  her  left,  hand ; 
while,  at  the  same  time,  she  held  out  a  fig  to  the  baby,  with 
the  usual  formula  in  such  cases,  "  There,  you  may  have  that ; 
but  mind,  you  must  n't  ask  for  any  more." 

It  seemed  to  me  a  pity  and  a  kind  of  contradiction  that,  on 
our  island,  one  could  not  have  as  many  figs  or  as  many  any- 
thing-elses  as  he  liked. 

However,  I  was  too  much  engrossed  with  my  new  project  to 
vex  myself  with  any  such  troublesome  question ;  my  pleasure 
even  made  me  forget  my  usual  caution,  and  I  exclaimed 
aloud,  "  Good  !  I  '11  try  it !  " 

"  Good  !  "  repeated  Alice,  in  her  abstraction  giving  the 
baby  a  second  fig ;  "  what  is  good  ?  and  what  is  it  you  are  going 
to  try  ?  " 


MY    SELFISHNESS    AND   CRUELTY.  305 

"  0,  nothing,"  I  replied,  with  as  much  coolness  as  possible, 
"  nothing,  at  least,  of  any  consequence." 

"  But  I  know  it  is,"  she  cried  ;  "  I  know  you  would  not  be 
so  excited  about  nothing,  and  I  know  it  is  not  nothing  that 
has  made  you  so  silent  and  abstracted  the  last  two  weeks." 

"  What !  I  ?  I  have  not  been  silent  and  abstracted  ;  I 
am  sure  I  never  talked  so  much  in  my  life." 

"  Why,  Robert,  how  you  talk  !  when  you  know  that  you 
have  hardly  spoken  to  me  for  a  whole  day  at  a  time ;  but,  come, 
tell  me  what  it  is  that  you  have  been  thinking  about." 

At  last  I  told  her. 

When  she  heard  it,  her  distress  was  greater  than  I  can 
describe. 

"  What !  leave  our  beautiful  island  !  "  she  cried,  "  where  we 
have  been  so  happy  ?  But  you,  do  not  mean  it  ;  I  know  you 
do  not  mean  it.  Say,  dear  Robert,"  she  continued,  throwing 
her  arms  round  my  neck,  and  looking  up  in  my  face  with  such 
an  earnest,  pleading  expression,  that  I  wonder  how  I  could 
have  had  the  heart  to  refuse  her  anything,  "  say  you  did  n't 
mean  it.  You  only  said  it  to  frighten  me,  now,  did  n't  you  ? 
I  should  be  perfectly  miserable  if  I  supposed  you  were  in 
earnest.  Why  don't  you  answer  me  ?  " 

"  t  thought  you  wished  to  leave  it,"  I  replied  ;  "don't  you 
remember  how  you  urged  me  —  " 

"  Yes,  but  that  was  long  ago  —  before  I  had  —  "  and  she 
stopped  and  blushed. 

"  Before  you  had  what  ?  " 

"  Before  —  before  we  were  married,  dear  Robert ;  and  now 
how  can  I  go  home  ?  —  and  when  I  did  it  to  make  you  happy 
—  and  because  I  thought  you  loved  me." 

"  And  don't  I  love  you,  my  dear,  precious  Alice  ?    Is  there 
anything  I  love  a  thousandth  part  as  well  ?      After  you  have 
31* 


366  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

done  so  much  for  me,  after  such  a  sacrifice  as  I  know  you  have 
made  for  me,  I  should  be  worse  than  a  brute  not  to  love 
you." 

"  Then,  if  you  love  me,  promise  that  you  will  never  take 
me  away  from  this  island.  I  am  so  happy  here,  and  there 
—  you  know  how  it  would  be ;  you  know  how  they  would  talk 
of  me,  dear  Robert !  " 

Cruel,  selfish,  heartless  man !  But  now  I  am  justly  pun 
ished.  I  welcome  my  retribution  with  open  arms,  if  so  I  may, 
in  any  degree,  expiate  my  cruelty. 

I  promised,  but  I  did  not  do  it  cheerfully.  I  let  her  see 
how  great  an  effort  it  cost  me.  I  continued  for  weeks  moody 
and  reserved,  as  if  suffering  from  her  unreasonableness.  I 
pretended  to  care  more  about  it  than  I  did,  and,  by  pretend 
ing,  I  at  length  came  to  feel  a  real  emotion.  I  persuaded 
myself  that  what  I  wished  was  as  much  for  her  benefit  as  my 
own ;  that  her  reluctance  was  only  assumed,  or  arose  simply 
from  a  foolish  whim. 

If  we  once  got  home,  she  would  find  how  much  she  had 
been  mistaken.  Her  situation  would  not  be,  by  any  means, 
as  disagreeable  as  she  supposed.  People  might  talk  a  little, 
but  what  if  they  did  ?  There  was  no  one  that  they  did  not 
talk  about.  And  it  would  soon  be  forgotten.  A  man  with  a 
hundred  thousand  dollars  could  easily  disregard  such  scandal. 
A  woman  as  beautiful  and  accomplished  as  my  Alice,  and  the 
heroine,  too,  of  such  a  surprising  story,  would  have  no  diffi 
culty  in  making  her  way  into  the  most  refined  circles.  She 
was  every  way  fitted  for  society,  and  could  not  fail  to  enjoy 
it. 

This  conduct  at  length  had  its  effect.  When  Alice  saw  that 
all  her  arguments  were  lost  upon  me,  and  that  I  was  still  as 


I  BEGIN  TO  BUILD  A  BOAT.  367 

intent  upon  my  project  as  ever,  she  gradually  withdrew  her 
opposition.  She  even  urged  me  to  proceed  at  once  to  its 
accomplishment.  I  knew  that  she  did  this  solely  out  of  love, 
but  I  pretended  to  find  in  it  only  a  proof  of  woman's  fickle 
ness  and  inconsistency.  She  had  not,  in  her  noble  self-sacri 
fice,  even  the  poor  return  of  gratitude. 

0,  my  God  !  forgive  me  !  That  cursed  gold  had  poisoned 
my  soul.  I  was  no  longer  the  same  being  that  I  had  been. 

It  was  on  the  tenth  of  April  when  I  commenced  my  opera 
tions.  But,  before  going  any  further,  it  may  be  as  well  to 
offer  a  brief  explanation.  I  have  already  mentioned  the 
materials  of  which  my  boat  was  to  be  constructed.  The  gum, 
which  I  intended  to  use  for  this  purpose,  was  the  same  that  I 
had  obtained  from  the  tree  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  in  the 
first  summer  we  spent  upon  the  island  ;  and  the  reader  may 
now  discover  what  it  was  that  led  me  to  curse  that  tree  so 
bitterly. 

In  the  course  of  certain  experiments  I  made,  more  from 
idle  curiosity  than  anything  else,  I  had  discovered  that  this 
gum,  though  soluble  in  hot  water,  was  not  in  the  least  aifected 
by  cold  water,  however  long  it  might  remain  in  it.  It  pos 
sessed,  also,  the  most  remarkable  tenacity,  as  was  proved  by 
several  articles  which  I  had  glued  together  some  years  be 
fore,  and  which  had  never  come  apart,  though  subjected  to  the 
roughest  handling.  Two  strips  of  palm-leaf,  joined  in  this  way, 
were  torn  entirely  in  pieces  without  the  glue  showing  any 
signs  of  yielding.  In  fact,  the  gum  was  much  stronger  than 
the  leaf  itself. 

Now,  if,  instead  of  two,  I  should  join  together  a  large  num 
ber,  in  successive  layers,  I  saw  no  reason  why  the  same  result 
should  not  follow.  A  boat  made  in  this  way  would  be  both 
tight  and  strong.  The  only  difficulty  would  be  to  give  it  the 


80S  THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

proper  shape,  and  for  this  I  had  already  invented  a  plan  that 
I  felt  sure  would  answer. 

But  could  I  obtain  the  gum  in  sufficient  quantity  ?  About 
this  I  was  less  positive.  The  tree  by  the  river  was  the  only 
one  of  the  kind  that  had  come  under  my  notice,  and,  though 
?its  yield  was  considerable,  it  would  be  far  less  than  I  required. 
The  first  thing,  then,  I  had  to  do,  was  to  find  other  trees  of 
the  same  character.  This  was  no  easy  matter.  Day  after 
day  I  continued  to  explore  the  island  in  every  direction,  till, 
having  at  length  gone  over  all  the  eastern  portion,  I  began  to 
extend  my  researches  further  and  further  towards  the  west. 

In  all  these  expeditions  Alice  and  the  children  constantly 
accompanied  me.  We  took  with  us  as  many  provisions  as  we 
could  conveniently  carry,  and  were  sometimes  gone  for  more 
than  a  week.  In  this  way  we  came  at  last  to  the  great  plain 
lying  near  the  centre  of  the  island,  and,  having  crossed  it, 
we  found  a  country  in  its  general  features  similar  to  that  we 
had  left,  but  with  its  hills  and  valleys  more  softly  rounded, 
and  with  several  new  forms  of  vegetation. 

The  cocoa-palm  flourished  here  in  the  greatest  luxuriance ; 
we  passed  grove  after  grove  so  loaded  with  fruit  that  I  could 
not  help  sighing  at  sight  of  so  much  wasted  abundance ;  and, 
as  for  the  mangoes  and  oranges,  there  seemed  enough  to  sup 
ply  the  whole  world. 

But  the  time  had  passed  when  these  things  could  give  me 
pleasure.  I  sought  only,  means  to  leave  them.  Strange  that 
the  surpassing  loveliness  of  that  delicious  scenery  could  not 
have  stolen  the  bitter  from  my  soul !  —  strange  that  even  there, 
amid  the  beauty  and  almost  the  innocence  of  Eden,  my  heart 
could  have  been  filled  with  such  base  and  grovelling  passions ! 

But  so  it  was.  I  passed  by  everything,  till  at  last  I  stopped 
beneath  a  tree,  whose  leaves,  similar  to  that  I  carried  in  my 


MAKING    A    MODEL.  369 


hand,  showed  me  that  it  was  what  I  had  so  long  and  patiently 


sought. 


A  patience  worthy  of  a  better  cause. 

Other  trees  of  the  same  sort  grew  all  around;  —  dark,  fune 
real-looking  trees,  with  heavy,  melancholy  branches,  more 
deadly  than  the  poison  Upas !  As  I  plunged  my  knife  into  the 
first,  an  invisible  power  seemed  to  stay  my  hand.  I  heard  a 
warning  voice,  that  bade  me  beware.  More  than  once  I  seemed 
almost  irresistibly  impelled  to  turn  my  back  and  flee  from  the 
fatal  spot.  But  I  would  not  listen  ;  I  made  my  ear  deaf  to 
that  cry,  and  my  heart  hard  and  stubborn  to  resist  that  merci 
ful  interposition. 

The  sap  began  to  flow.  I  caught  it  in  a  gourd,  into  which 
the  drops  were  conducted  by  a  slender  strip  of  palm-leaf. 
Then  I  left  that  tree  and  went  to  another,  and  so  on  succes 
sively,  till  I  had  tapped  as  many  as  I  had  gourds.  I  made 
use  of  these  vessels  in  order  that  I  might  obtain  the  sap  in 
perfect  purity ;  but  I  soon  saw  how  inconvenient  this  would 
be,  and  concluded  that  it  would  be  a  much  better  plan  to  let 
the  sap  run  upon  the  ground.  It  hardened  so  speedily  by  ex 
posure  to  the  air  that  little  or  none  would  be  lost,  and  what 
foreign  matter  would  thus  become  mixed  with  it,  could 
easily  be  separated  when  I  came  to  dissolve  it. 

I  worked  in  this  way  for  more  than  a  month ;  and,  at  the 
end  of  that  time,  had  collected  not  far  from  five  hundred 
pounds,  besides  a  considerable  quantity  which  I  found  already 
formed  on  the  trunks  and  branches.  This,  I  thought,  would 
be  all  I  should  need.  I  spent  a  week  in  collecting  a  quantity 
of  palm-leaves ;  and,  my  materials  being  now  all  ready,  I  pro 
ceeded  to  put  them  together. 

As,  in  order  to  do  this  with  any  degree  of  accuracy,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  have  a  mould  or  model,  I  determined 


370  THE   NEW    AGE    OP    GOLD. 

to  fashion  one  of  clay ;  and,  having  noticed  a  large  bed  of 
that  material  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  several  miles  above  its 
mouth.  I  selected  that  spot  as  the  most  convenient  in  which  to 
carry  on  my  operations. 

I  first  made  a  great  oblong  pile  of  clay,  big  enough  to  have 
been  the  grave  of  the  biggest  giant  that  ever  lived,  and  then 
cut  and  moulded  it,  as  well  as  I  knew  how,  into  the  shape  of  a 
boat,  except  that  it  had  no  keel. 

Before  this  had  time  to  dry,  I  sprinkled  it  all  over  with 
fine  sand,  and  then  made  haste  to  commence  my  boat.  I  had 
already  built  a  rude  fire-place  for  my  kettles,  in  which  to  melt 
the  gum,  and  also  a  small  hut  for  us  to  lodge  in,  that  we  might 
camp  on  the  spot,  and  not  lose  time  in  going  home  every 
evening. 

I  tore  the  palm-leaf  into  strips  about  three  inches  wide,  and 
having  spread  over  them  a  thin  coat  of  gum,  I  laid  them  length 
wise  along  the  bottom  and  sides  of  my  clay  model  until  it  was 
completely  covered,  except  a  narrow  space  around  the  edges.  I 
had  to  keep  the  gum  boiling  hot  all  the  time ;  and,  as  I  had  no 
brush,  I  used  a  hare's  foot  instead.  As  soon  as  the  first  layer 
was  dry,  I  put  on  another  in  the  same  way,  only  taking  care  to 
have  the  strips  run  in  the  contrary  direction  ;  and  so  I  went  on 
adding  layer  after  layer  till  the  whole  had  a  uniform  thickness 
of  about  three  inches.  I  then  inserted  stout  loops  of  twisted 
hide  at  the  bows,  and  wherever  else  I  thought  they  would  be 
needed  ;  and,  having  increased  the  thickness  to  four  inches, 
and  fashioned  the  keel  with  great  care  and  labor,  I  finally 
covered  the  whole  with  several  coats  of  gum,  till  it  was  almost 
as  smooth  as  glass. 

Five  weeks  were  consumed  in  these  various  operations,  and, 
by  the  time  this  part  of  the  work  was  finished,  the  clay  had 
shrunk  so  much  in  drying  as  to  leave  the  boat  entirely  free. 


LAUNCH    OF    THE    ALICE.  371 

If  it  had  not  been  for  this,  I  should  have  had  hard  work  to  get 
them  apart ;  but,  as  it  was,  I  easily,  by  means  of  props  and 
levers,  turned  the  boat  over  on  its  keel,  and  then  proceeded  to 
form  the  deck. 

To  do  this  I  first  made  a  foundation  of  slender  bamboos 
placed  close  together,  and  afterwards  covered  them  with  palm- 
leaves  in  the  same  manner  as  the  bottom.  I  left  about  a  third 
of  the  boat  uncovered,  that  we  might  have  a  convenient  place 
to  sit ;  and,  instead  of  having  a  hatchway  in  the  deck,  we  en 
tered  the  cabin  through  a  door  opening  towards  the  stern.  Be 
sides  this,  I  also  left  two  small  windows,  one  on  each  side  of 
the  door,  for  better  ventilation. 

All  being  now  ready  for  launching,  on  the  fourth  of  July  I 
harnessed  the  bear  with  a  long  rope  to  the  bow,  and  setting  him 
to  pull  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  "  The  Alice,"  for  so 
I  had  determined  to  call  this  pretty  vessel,  slid  smoothly  down 
the  sloping  bank,  and  floated  lightly  on  the  water. 

Before  putting  in  her  rigging,  I  concluded  to  carry  her 
down  into  the  lake;  but  here  an  unexpected  difficulty  pre 
sented  itself,  that  came  very  near  making  me  lose  all  my 
labor. 

The  river,  as  I  have  already  mentioned,  wras  not  only  very 
narrow,  but  in  some  places  so  exceedingly  crooked,  that  even 
the  yawl,  small  as  it  was,  could  hardly  turn ;  and  as  my  new 
boat  was  much  larger,  being,  indeed,  no  less  than  twenty-four 
feet  long  and  seven  wide,  the  difficulty,  of  course,  was  greatly 
increased.  However,  as  the  boat  was  light,  and  drew  very 
little  water,  I  managed,  by  digging  away  the  project  ing  points 
of  the  bank,  to  widen  the  channel  sufficiently  for  her  to  pass ; 
and,  in  this  way,  in  something  less  than  a  month,  we  came  to 
anchor  in  the  lake. 

The  next  step  was  to  furnish  my  new  craft  with  masts  and 


372  THE   NEW    AGE   OF   GOLD. 

sails.  I  had  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  the  first,  but  what  to 
do  for  the  second  was  a  question  not  so  easily  answered.  I 
could  make  them  of  skins,  but  they  would  be  altogether  too 
thick  and  heavy.  Besides,  it  would  take  so  many  that  the 
whole  winter  would  be  gone  before  I  could  obtain  a  sufficient 
number.  There  was  nothing  left,  then,  but  to  make  the  sails 
of  bamboo,  similar  to  what  are  called  lateen  sails  in  the  east. 

I  fastened  the  slender  strips  of  bamboo  together  with  thongs 
of  deer-skin,  so  that  they  overlapped  each  other  like  the  slats 
of  a  Venetian  blind.  The  sails  were  square  and  attached  to 
the  masts  by  means  of  yards  ;  for,  though  in  so  small  a  vessel 
a  fore-and-aft  rig  would  have  been  much  more  convenient,  the 
nature  of  my  materials  did  not  seem  to  admit  of  it  in  the 
present  instance. 

As  it  would  be  well-nigh  impossible  to  hoist  either  of  these 
sails  without  a  block,  I  determined  to  see  whether  my  ingenu 
ity  was  equal  to  making  such  an  article.  After  many  trials, 
I  -at  length  succeeded;  but  it  is  almost  incredible  what  an 
amount  of  labor  this  apparently  simple  matter  cost  me.  In 
fact,  it  was  nearly  as  great  an  undertaking  as  all  the  rest  of 
the  work  put  together. 

The  rudder  which  came  ashore  with  the  long-boat,  I  found 
would  answer  very  well  for  my  purpose ;  and  the  hinges  on 
which  it  turned  were  the  only  iron  in  the  whole  boat.  My 
cordage  was  all  made  of  deer-skin,  twisted  together,  when 
necessary,  to  give  it  greater  strength. 

I  cannot  tell  with  how  much  pride  and  pleasure  I  surveyed 
my  little  vessel ;  everything  about  her,  with  the  single  ex 
ception  of  the  rudder,  was  so  entirely  my  own.  The  lake  was 
too  small  to  sail  her  in,  and  I  burned  with  impatience  for  the 
day  when  I  should  have  ample  opportunity  to  test  her  quali 
ties. 


CARGO    AND    PROVISIONS.  373 

I  began  to  work,  as  I  have  already  said,  on  the  fourteenth 
of  April,  but  it  was  not  till  the  middle  of  October  that  The 
Alice  was  ready  to  receive  her  cargo. 

The  gold  was  the  first  thing  to  be  taken  on  board,  where  I 
stowed  it  carefully  in  the  bottom,  to  serve  as  ballast.  Then 
came  our  provisions,  consisting  of  dried  figs,  cocoanuts,  rice, 
yams,  eggs,  and  venison.  I  added,  also,  a  few  oranges  and 
mangoes,  and  a  dozen  or  two  of  pine-apples.  I  provided  a 
few  bushels  of  charcoal,  and  a  large  earthen  pot  full  of  ashes, 
in  which  to  keep  our  fire,  which  was  the  best  I  could  do  in 
the  way  of  cooking.  Our  water  was  contained  in  joints  of 
bamboo,  hermetically  sealed,  with  a  hole  made  with  an  awl  at 
one  end,  and  stopped  with  a  wooden  plug. 

After  receiving  all  these  articles,  the  little  cabin  had  hardly 
room  for  Alice  and  the  children ;  but,  as  they  would  seldom 
find  it  necessary  to  go  under  cover,  except  in  stormy  weather, 
this  was  a  matter  of  little  moment.  13y  the  time  we  got  into 
colder  latitudes,  they  would  have  all  the  space  that  would  be 
required.  Even  now,  however,  they  had  plenty  of  room  to 
lie  down ;  and  their  berths,  made  of  bamboo  and  stuffed  with 
grass,  were  as  comfortable  as  any  one  could  wish. 
32 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

Our  last  Day  on  the  Island.  — Lament  of  Alice.  —Her  Unwillingness  to 
go.— We  remain  one  Day  longer.  — The  last  Evening.— The  Morning. 
—  The  Doe.  —  At  Sea.  —  Our  last  View  of  the  Island.  —  The  Storm.  — 
We  lose  our  Fire.  —  Land,  ho  !  —  The  Ship.  —  San  Francisco.  —  Selling 
my  Gold.  —  Our  second  Marriage. 

ALICE  had  watched  all  these  preparations  with  a  troubled 
eye.  During  the  whole  year  I  had  rarely  seen  her  smile,  but 
her  sighs  were  involuntary,  and  once  or  twice  I  had  caught 
her  in  tears.  If  ever,  when  busy  at  my  work,  I  happened  to 
cast  a  glance  towards  her,  I  was  sure  to  find  her  eyes  fixed 
upon  me  with  such  an  earnest,  sorrowful  expression,  as  might, 
it  seemed,  have  melted  a  heart  of  stone.  But  it  only  annoyed 
me.  I  reproached  her,  not  openly  but  by  insinuation,  for 
being  so  dull  and  low-spirited ;  as  if  she  had  assumed  that 
method  purposely  to  discourage  me. 

If  anything  went  wrong,  I  vented  my  spleen  on  her.  Yet 
do  not  think  too  hardly  of  me.  In  the  depths  of  the  bitter 
ness  of  my  remorse  I  have  still  this  consolation  left,  that  I 
loved  her,  all  the  time,  better  than  I  loved  my  own  soul. 
Through  it  all,  I  thank  God,  she  never  doubted  my  affection. 
A  cloud  was  upon  my  soul,  but  she  hoped  it  would,  before 
long,  be  removed.  Indeed,  even  then  I  seemed  to  have  my 
lucid  moments,  in  which  I  lavished  upon  her  every  expression 


LAMENT    OF    ALICE.  375 

of  tenderness  and  endearment,  as  if  I  could,  in  that  way,  make 
atonement  for  the  wrong  which  every  day  increased. 

But,  at  length,  the  long  suspense  was  over,  and  the  day 
dawned  that  was  to  be  our  last  upon  the  island.  I  had  made 
everything  ready  the  evening  before,  that  we  might  commence 
our  voyage  early  in  the  morning ;  but  Alice  plead  so  hard  for 
a  few  hours'  delay,  that  I  had  not  the  heart  to  refuse. 

She  spent  those  hours  in  going  round  among  her  flowers, 
and  the  other  dear,  familiar  objects  with  which  we  had  lived 
so  many  years ;  and  her  passionate  leave-taking  brought  for 
cibly  to  my  mind  the  lament  of  Eve  when  her  hours  in  Para 
dise  grew  few : 

"0,  unexpected  stroke,  worse  than  of  death  ! 
Must  I  thus  leave  thee,  Paradise  !  thus  leave 
Thee,  native  soil,  these  happy  walks  and  shades, 
Fit  haunt  of  gods  !  where  I  had  hoped  to  spend 
Quiet,  though  sad,  the  respite  of  that  day 
That  must  be  mortal  to  us  both  ?     0,  flowers, 
That  never  will  in  other  climate  grow, 
My  early  visitation,  and  my  last 
At  ev'n,  which  I  bred  up,  with  tender  hand, 
From  the  first  opening  bud,  and  gave  ye  names  ! 
Who  now  shall  rear  ye  to  the  sun,  or  rank 
Your  tribes,  and  water  from  the  ambrosial  fount  ? 
Thee,  lastly,  nuptial  bower,  by  me  adorned 
"With  what  to  sight  or  smell  was  sweet,  from  theo 
How  shall  I  part,  and  whither  wander  down 
Into  a  lower  world,  to  this  obscure 
And  wild?     How  shall  we  breathe  in  other  air, 
Less  pure,  accustomed  to  immortal  fruits  ?  " 

I  followed  her  round  wherever  she  went,  without  daring  to 
say  a  word.  But  at  length  I  asked  her,  "  Are  you  ready, 
now,  dear  Alice  ?  " 


TIIE   NEW   AGE    OF    GOLD. 


At  first  she  could  not  answer;  but,  presently,  though  with- 
out  looking  at  me,  she  replied,  »  Yes." 

We  turned  away,  but  when  we  reached  the  brow  of  the  hill 
and  were  about  to  descend  towards  the  lake,  her  courage  failed 
her,  and  she  would  go  no  further ;  she  must  go  back  and  bid 
them  all  one  more  good-by. 

At  last  I  drew  her  down  to  the  shore.  We  entered  the 
boat,  and  now  I  thought  that  all  was  over ;  but,  as  I  was 
about  to  push  off  into  the  lake,  she  burst  into  such  a  passion 
of  tears,  and  her  touching  «  Not  to-day,  dear  Robert;  let  us 
stay  one  day  longer  !  »  had  such  an  effect  upon  me,  that 
though  I  felt  all  the  time  that  I  was  not  consulting  her  hap- 
piness  by  so  doing,  I  consented  to  remain. 

And,  to^tell  the  truth,  now  that  the  wished-for  moment  had 
at  last  arrived,  I  was  almost  as  averse  to  leaving  as  Alice  her- 
I  wished,  with  all  my  heart,  that  something  would 
happen  which  would  render  it  impossible  for  us  to  go.  Noth 
ing  but  that  spirit  of  persistence  which  is  always  acquired  by 
a  long  continued  course  of  action  enabled  me  to  triumph  over 
her  reluctance  and  my  own. 

How  well  I  remember  that  last  evening,  as  we  sat  together 
before  our  once  cheerful  fire,—  once  cheerful,  but  now  cheerful 
no  longer !  We  spoke  not  a  word,  for  our  hearts  were  full. 
A  single  syllable  would  bring  the  tears. 

Yet,  with  what  a  strange  eloquence  everything  around  us 
seemed  suddenly  gifted !  How  every  little  article  of  daily 
use  cried  to  us  not  to  go  away !  I  regarded  them  with  a  fond 
affection,  almost  a  human  tenderness. 

Hamlet  looked  into  the  fire  as  hard  as  we,  but  what  he  saw 
there  I  cannot  tell.  I  had  not  seen  fit  to  communicate  to  him 
my  intentions,  yet  I  judged  from  his  manner  that  he  had  a 
strong  suspicion  of  what  was  about  to  happen.  But  though 


LEAVING    THE    ISLAND.  377 

it  concerned  his  happiness  quite  as  much  as  it  did  ours,  he  was 
too  much  of  a  philosopher  to  disturb  himself  on  that  account. 
No  Turkish  fatalist  could  submit  with  more  profound  indiffer 
ence  to  the  decrees  of  Providence.  "  What  must  be,  must 
be,"  was  his  motto;  and,  during  the  whole  of  our  acquaint 
ance,  I  never  knew  him  to  forget  it  in  a  single  instance. 

The  tender-hearted  Allie  sympathized  in  her  mother's  grief, 
though  without  understanding  its  cause  ;  but,  as  foi  Jasper, 
he  could  hardly  sleep  for  eagerness. 

I  persuaded  Alice  to  sleep  in  the  boat,  homing  to  get  to  sea 
before  she  should  awake,  and  thus  spare  her  the  pain  of 
another  parting ;  but  accident  prevented. 

The  next  morning  rose  bright  and  beautiful.  Noiselessly 
drawing  up  the  heavy  stone  that  served  us  for  an  anchor,  I 
pushed  across  the  little  lake  and  entered  the  low,  arched  pus- 
sage  that  led  out  into  the  open  sea.  Alice  and  the  children 
still  slept,  worn  out  with  grief  and  weariness ;  Hamlet  alone 
watched  my  operations. 

Just  then  the  doe  came  bleating  down  to  the  lake,  as  if  im 
ploring  us  not  to  forsake  her.  Those  plaintive  cries  awakened 
Alice.  She  started  up,  and  seeing  her  gentle  favorite  thus 
standing  weeping  on  the  shore,  she  begged  me,  more  by  signs 
than  words,  to  take  her  with  us. 

"  There  is  no  room,"  I  answered ;  —  the  boat  moved  on. 
Alice  sank  down  upon  the  bottom,  and,  hiding  her  face  in  her 
arms,  seemed  hardly  to  breathe.  I  made  no  attempt  to  com 
fort  her,  for  I  felt  that  then  it  was  impossible.  Standing  by 
her  side,  I  urged  the  boat  along  by  taking  hold  of  the  project 
ing  rocks.  At  length  we  came  to  a  place  where  the  cavern 
was  too  narrow  for  the  boat  to  pass.  In  attempting  to  force 
it  through,  it  became  jammed  so  firmly  that  I  could  not  move 
it,  either  one  way  or  the  other. 
32* 


378  THE   NEW   AGE   OF    GOLD. 

I  thought  for  a  while  that  fortune  had  at  length  interfered 
to  prevent  our  flight ;  but,  as  the  tide  rose,  the  channel  grew 
wider,  and  we  were  again  enabled  to  proceed.  In  this  way 
we  came  to  the  end  of  that  dismal  passage,  and  shot  out  into 
the  innumerably  sparkling,  glad  Pacific.  Here  I  stepped 
my  masts,  and  hoisted  my  sails,  and  with  a  gentle  breeze 
stretched  away  towards  the  rising  sun. 

Alice  now  aroused  herself,  and  we  both  turned  and  looked 
back  towards  the  island.  It  seemed  to  be  sinking  again  into 
the  ocean  from  which  it  had  risen.  Its  rugged  outlines  grew 
softer ;  the  tints  of  green  and  gray  melted  into  blue ;  it 
dwindled  and  dwindled,  till  it  seemed  only  a  cloud  in  the 
horizon. 

In  a  few  hours  more  it  would  be  lost  to  our  eyes  forever. 
Then  with  what  vain  regret  I  should  lament  my  folly  !  But 
it  was  not  yet  too  late  to  return.  I  had  only  to  turn  the 
rudder  to  regain  possession  of  all  our  former  happiness. 

But  was  it  so  ?  Could  that  dead  tree  live  again  ?  While 
I  hesitated  night  fell  upon  us.  In  the  morning  the  island 
was  out  of  sight. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  describe  the  events  of  our  voyage. 
We  encountered,  when  three  weeks  out,  a  violent  storm  ;  but 
the  behavior  of  the  bear  had  prepared  me  for  its  comino-,  and 
with  sails  closely  furled  our  little  bark  bravely  rode  out  the 
tempest.  Not  a  plank  started,  not  a  drop  of  water  found  its 
way  through  the  seams. 

A  month  afterwards  we  lost  our  fire.  This  was  unfortunate, 
as  we  had  already  entered  the  northern  latitudes,  and,  it  being 
now  mid-winter,  we  suffered  severely  from  the  cold.  But, 
Jasper  had  by  this  time  learned  to  manage  the  boat  as  well  as 
I  could  myself,  and  was  always  ready  to  take  his  turn  at  the 


MEET    WITH    A    SHIP. 


379 


helm.  The  compass*  answered  as  well  as  could  be  expected  ; 
but,  as  I  had  no  means  of  taking  an  observation,  our  course 
was  necessarily  very  uncertain,  and  I  had  little  idea  where 
we  should  land.  I  only  knew  that  it  would  be  on  some  part 
of  the  North  American  continent. 

On  the  20th  of  January,  1854,  two  months  and  seventeen 
days  after  we  put  to  sea,  I  perceived  that  we  were  drawing 
near  to  land.  The  next  morning  it  was  full  in  sight,  a  lofty 
table  land,  with  now  and  then  high  battlemented  cliffs.  All 
that  day  we  stretched  south  along  the  shore,  but  found  no 
harbor.  At  night  we  stood  off  and  on,  taking  care  to  keep 
always  within  sound  of  the  surf.  The  second  morning  we 
found  ourselves  enveloped  in  so  thick  a  fog  that  we  could 
hardly  see  the  boat's  length,  and  were  obliged  to  lie  to  all  the 
forenoon  ;  but  about  twelve  the  fog  lifted,  and  at  the  same 
time,  to  add  to  our  satisfaction,  we  discovered  a  large  ship 
not  more  than  a  mile  distant,  and  standing  under  easy  sail 
directly  towards  us. 

I  waited  for  her  to  come  up,  and  then  hailed  to  inquire  in 
what  part  of  the  world  we  were,  and  what  course  we  should 
steer  to  find  a  harbor. 

The  crew  all  came  running  to  stare  at  us,  and  for  a  few 
minutes  the  captain  himself  seemed  too  much  surprised  to 
give  me  an  answer.  I  was  at  first  inclined  to  be  angry  at 
what  I  considered  their  impertinence,  but  a  moment's  reflec 
tion  showed  me  that,  after  all,  it  was  no  more  than  natural. 

Our  whole  appearance  must  have  been  singularly  gro 
tesque.  Our  dresses  of  various-colored  leather ;  the  beard 
that  covered  my  face ;  the  strange  form  and  equipment  of  the 

*  Made,  as  I  had  almost  forgotten  to  mention,  of  a  cambric  needle  mag 
netized  on  the  blade  of  my  knife,  and  then  set  to  float  in  water. 


TIIE   NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

boat;  and,  perhaps,  more  than  all,  the  presence  of  the  bear, 
might  well  be  expected  to  excite  astonishment. 

J3ut,  presently  the  captain  put  his  trumpet  to  his  mouth 
and  hailed,  «  If  you  are  bound  to  San  Francisco,  all  you  have 
to  do  is  to  keep  in  my  wake.  We  shall  be  there  in  four 
hours,  if  the  wind  holds." 

San  Francisco!  Where  could  that  be?  I  never  remem 
bered  to  have  heard  the  name. 

The  ship  was  now  abreast  of  us,  and  we  could  see  all  on 
board  distinctly.  «  0,  Alice,  Alice!"  cried  Jasper,  "just 
see  all  those  men  and  women !  "  (There  were  no  women,  but 
their  shaven  faces  deceived  him.)  «  Are  there  any  more 
men  in  the  world,  father  ?  " 

'And  what  funny  clothes  they  have  on!"  said  Alice. 
"  They  are  n't  dressed  a  bit  like  us,  are  they  mother  ?  " 

Before  we  could  answer  these  questions  the  captain  hailed 
again  to  know  what  part  of  the  world  we  were  from,  and 
where  we  had  picked  up  such  an  odd-looking  craft. 

As  the  wind  was  light,  and  we  easily  held  our  way  with 
the  ship,  I  invited  him  to  come  on  board.  Upon  this  he 
lowered  a  boat,  and  I  went  alongside  and  took  him  in. 
When  he  had  heard  my  story,  which  I  told  him  in  few  words, 
"  Well,  well !  "  he  replied  ;  «  so  you  'vc  been  gone  from  home 
a  matter  of  twelve  years.  I  guess  you  never  heard  of  Cali 
fornia  ?  " 

Yes,  I  had  heard  the  name,  but  that  was  all. 
"  Well,  this  is  California  here,"  said  he  ;  "  we  took  it  from 
the  Mexicans.  I  reckon  you  have  n't  heard  about  the  war 
either,  and  we've  taken  out  heaps  of  gold;  and  this  San 
Francisco,  according  to  all  accounts,  though  I  have  never 
been  there  myself,  is  a  regular  built  city  with  forty  or  fifty 
thousand  inhabitants,  though  eight  years  ago  there  was  n't  a 


SAN   FRANCISCO.  381 

dozen  houses  in  it  all  told.  But,  never  mind;  wait  a  while, 
and  you  '11  see  wonders.  But,  would  n't  you  like  a  bit  of 
biscuit?  I  believe  that's  the  first  thing  folks  in  your  situa 
tion  ask  for." 

I  told  him  that  we  should  be  very  glad  of  a  little,  if  he 
had  any  to  spare;  upon  which  he  hailed  the  ship  and  told 
them  to  fill  a  basket  with  bread  and  whatever  else  they  could 
lay  their  hands  on,  and  lower  it  down  to  us. 

This  order  was  no  sooner  given  than  it  was  executed  ;  and 
in  a  few  minutes  we  were  feasting  on  pilot  bread  an  1  butter, 
with  a  relish  infinitely  surpassing  anything  I  had  ever  known 
before  ; —  that  is,  Alice  and  I,  for,  as  to  the  children,  they  did 
not  seem  to  care  for  it. 

After  remaining  with  us  an  hour  or  two,  Captain  Lewis 
returned  to  his  ship  ;  and  soon  after  we  followed  him  into  the 
harbor  of  San  Francisco.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  the 
amazement  that  seized  hold  of  me  at  first  sight  of  this  won 
derful  city.  1  could  hardly  persuade  myself  that  what  I 
heard  was  true,  and  was  half  in  doubt  whether  we  were  not 
in  some  older  part  of  the  world.  Surprising  as  the  history 
of  California  must  be,  even  to  those  who  have  known  it  from 
the  beginning,  it  was  infinitely  more  so  to  us,  upon  whom  its 
wonders  burst  all  at  once,  with  a  startling  suddenness  that 
left  the  mind  no  time  for  preparation. 

But,  interested  as  I  was  in  that  extraordinary  country,  I 
was  too  impatient  to  arrive  at  home  to  remain  in  Saa  Fran 
cisco  any  longer  than  I  could  help.  I  sold  my  gold  to 
Adams  &  Co.,  who  paid  me  in  bills  on  New  York  to  the 
amount  of  $133,000.  The  remainder,  about  seventeen  hun 
dred  dollars,  I  preferred  to  receive  in  coin.  I  had  already 
secured  a  passage  in  the  next  steamer,  which  was  to  sail  in 
less  than  a  week,  and  had  also  bought  all  the  clothing  that  we 


382  THE    NEW  AGE   OF   GOLD. 

should  be  likely  to  need  until  our  arrival  in  New  York,  so 
that  I  had  really  no  occasion  for  this  money ;  but,  the  fact 
was,  I  had  never  had  more  than  fifty  dollars  at  a  time  in  my 
life,  and  I  could  not  resist  the  temptation. 

So  I  continued  to  carry  it  all  the  way  home,  notwith 
standing  its  weight ;  and  during  the  whole  voyage  I  never 
plunged  my  hand  into  my  pocket  and  drew  it  out  full  of 
broad  pieces  of  gold,  fresh  from  the  mint,  which  I  did,  at 
least,  a  hundred  times  a  day,  without  a  feeling  of  intense 
satisfaction,  that  amply  repaid  me  for  all  the  labor  I  had 
expended  in  obtaining  it.  » 

In  a  word,  I  now  for  the  first  time  knew  what  it  was  to  be 
rich  ;  and  the  sensation  was  at  once  so  novel  and  agreeable 
that  I  began  to  think  that,  after  all,  I  had  not  been  guilty  of 
quite  so  great  folly  in  leaving  our  island  as  I  had  sometimes 
imagined. 

Before  leaving  San  Francisco  we  were  privately  married, 
with  the  usual  forms,  by  the  Rev.  T.  Dwight  Hunt,  of  that 
city,  who,  after  the  ceremony  was  performed,  inquired,  with 
an  air  as  if  he  were  used  to  such  matters,  whether  I  had 
ever  been  in  the  mines.  I  thought  it  no  falsehood  to  answer 
that  I  had. 

I  met  one  day  at  my  hotel  a  man  who  had  been  in  Cali 
fornia,  so  he  told  me,  since  1848.  He  had  visited  nearly 
every  part  of  the  mines,  stopping  in  each  place  only  long 
enough  to  fill  a  leathern  purse  he  showed  me,  and  which 
might  have  held  three  or  four  hundred  dollars,  and  then 
setting  off  in  search  of  fresh  discoveries.  He  had  much  to 
tell  of  the  wild  life  he  had  led,  and  the  strange  adventures 
he  had  met  with,  and  aroused  in  me  a  still  stronger  desire  to 
see  with  my  own  eyes  a  little  more  of  that  wonderful  country 
than  was  to  be  found  in  San  Francisco.  Indeed,  so  much 


SAN    FRANCISCO.  383 

was  I  interested  in  his  narrative,  that  I  came  very  near 
making  a  bargain  with  him  to  accompany  me  to  some  of  the 
more  remarkable  localities ;  but  I  thought  better  of  it  the 
next  day,  and  determined  not  to  run  any  more  risk  just  then 
than  I  could  help  ;  nor  was  I  at  all  inclined  to  repent  of  my 
resolution  when  I  heard  not  long  after  that  he  had  been  blown 
up  in  a  steamboat  on  the  Sacramento,  for,  though  he  escaped 
with  life,  I  had  no  means  of  knowing  that  I  should  have 
been  equally  fortunate.  This  man's  name,  I  may  as  well 
mention,  was  James  Brannan.  He  had  been  educated, 
according  to  his  own  account,  at  Edinburgh,  and  was  certainly 
one  of  the  finest-looking  men  I  ever  saw. 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

"We  arrive  in  Boston.  —  Its  Aspect.  —  Inquiries  for  my  Father's  Family. 

—  Disappointments.  —  I  buy  me  a  House  and  try  to  be  happy.  —  Our 
different  Trials.  —  Jasper's  Sickness.  —  His  last  Interview  with  Hamlet. 

—  His  Death. 

WE  arrived  in  New  York,  after  an  average  passage,  some 
time  toward  the  end  of  February,  and  left  for  Boston  the 
same  evening.  Thus,  after  an  absence  of  more  than  eleven 
years,  I  again  found  myself  in  my  native  city.  It  looked 
strange  to  me.  The  streets  seemed  dark  and  narrow,  without 
trees,  and  without  sunshine.  Coming,  as  we  did,  out  of  an 
eternal  spring,  the  chilling  blasts  of  winter  froze  our  hearts ; 
yet  not  so  much  as  the  looks  of  men.  The  faces  that  I  met 
were  new,  and  the  same  cloud  seemed  to  rest  upon  them 
all. 

Yet  there  was  a  novelty  and  excitement  connected  with 
this  sudden  revival  of  old  associations  that  was  eminently 
pleasing,  and  made  me  for  a  while  overlook  all  other  consid 
erations. 

Having  left  my  family  at  the  American  House,  I  bent  my 
steps  towards  the  house  where  my  mother  had  formerly 
resided.  A  new  name  was  on  the  door.  I  turned  again  into 
Washington-street,  and  walked  along  till  I  came  to  a  store 
kept  by  one  of  my  father's  old  partners.  He  did  not  recog- 


INQUIRIES    FOR    MY    FATHER'S    FAMILY.  885 

nize  me,  and  I  did  not  see  fit  to  tell  him  my  name ;  but,  as 
we  stood  opposite  each  other,  with  only  the  narrow  counter 
between  us,  I  remembered  the  last  time  I  had  seen  him,  with 
a  secret  satisfaction  that  filled  my  heart  with  smiles.  Then 
he  had  coldly  declined  my  proffered  services,  with  the  brief 
observation  that  he  was  afraid  my  education  had  spoiled  me 
for  a  man  of  business ;  but  now  he  was  all  civility. 

I  asked  him  if  he  could  tell  me  where  Mrs.  John  Romaine 
lived,  and  his  countenance  fell. 

Mrs.  Romaine  —  he  did  not  know  exactly,  but  he  believed 
—  he  rather  thought —  that  she  was  dead.  He  would  not  be 
sure,  but  he  had  an  impression  that  he  had  heard  of  her 
death  several  years  before.  He  would  call  one  of  his  clerks 
and  ask  him ;  perhaps  he  would  know  about  it. 

Yes,  it  was  even  so.  My  mother  was  dead.  For  five 
winters  the  snow  had  lain  on  her  grave.  One  hope,  one 
source  of  happiness  was  gone.  The  gold  in  my  pocket  was 
growing  dull. 

My  next  inquiry  was  after  my  brothers  and  sisters.  Of 
the  whole  number  only  one  was  living.  This  was  my  younger 
sister,  and  she  was  married  to  a  man  every  way  her  infe 
rior  —  a  man  with  whom  I  could  have  no  sympathy —  a  man 
whose  whole  soul,  if  soul  he  had,  was  in  trade.  But  he  was 
rich  ;  so  there  was  no  use  for  any  money  there,  either  ? 

However,  I  bought  me  a  fine  house,  filled  it  with  fine  furni 
ture,  and  set  to  work  with  a  fall  determination  to  be  happy. 

But  it  is  not  so  easy  to  shake  off  the  habits  one  has  worn 
so  many  years.  I  found  that  I  had  lost  nearly  all  interest  in 
my  old  pursuits.  I  had  nothing  in  common  with  the  world 
around  me.  There  was  no  sympathy  between  us.  I  was 
like  the  poor  prisoner  who  begged  to  be  taken  back  to  his 
dungeon. 

33 


380  THE    NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 

Yet  I  have  no  doubt  that  time  -would  have  remedied  all 
these  evils,  and  gradually  brought  me  back  to  my  old  tastes 
and  inclinations.  I  could  have  found  sufficient  amusement  in 
books,  in  travelling,  and  in  the  society  of  the  intelligent  and 
agreeable  persons  whom  my  position  would  have  enabled  me 
to  draw  around  me. 

But  Alice  was  differently  situated.  Her  local  attachments 
were  stronger  even  than  mine.  In  those  narrow  dirty  streets 
her  soul  pined  after  the  shady  forest  paths  in  which  she  had 
so  often  lingered.  Even  in  her  luxurious  parlors  she  could 
think  only  of  her  low  arbor,  thick  with  flowering  vines — the 
little  dome-roofed  cottages  —  the  homely  fire-place  —  the 
great  mangrove  that  sheltered  us  with  its  friendly  branches. 
Society  was  wearisome  to  her.  She  had  never  been  used  to 
it,  and  the  exertion  it  cost  her  to  appear  at  case  destroyed 
all  the  pleasure  it  might  have  afforded. 

And,  though  she  was  now  my  lawful  wife,  she  could  not 
forget  that  she  had  not  always  been  so,  and  this  conscious 
ness  oppressed  her.  The  steadfast  approval  of  her  own  heart 
was  not  enough  to  fortify  her  against  the  uncharitable  judg 
ment  of  the  world.  She  thought  that  every  one  she  met  was 
acquainted  with  all  her  history,  and,  even  when  courted  and 
flattered,  she  could  not  divest  herself  of  the  idea  that  she 
was  regarded  with  secret  pity  and  contempt. 

It  was  little  pleasure  to  her  to  know  that  we  were  rich  and 
honored.  There  was  none  of  that  vanity  and  love  of  show 
about  her,  that  made  so  large  a  part  of  my  character.  I 
loved  to  be  admired,  to  be  talked  about,  to  make  a  figure  in 
the  world ;  but  her  nature  was  too  simple  and  too  noble  to  be 
moved  by  such  trifles.  She  was  only  sensitive  about  one  thing, 
and  there,  unfortunately,  it  was  impossible  to  satisfy  her. 

Jasper,  too,  notwithstanding  all  his  eager  anticipations,  — 


OUR    DIFFERENT    TRIALS.  387 

notwithstanding  the  reality  so  infinitely  exceeded  them, — 
in  spite  of  the  buoyancy  of  youth,  its  love  of  change,  its  in 
difference  to  place,  —  soon  began  to  find  a  difference  between 
his  old  situation  and  the  new. 

At  home,  for  so  he  always  called  the  island,  he  could  be  in 
the  open  air  all  day  long,  with  nothing  to  do  but  to  amuse 
himself  and  grow.  But  now  he  must  not  play  in  the  streets 
for  fear  of  spoiling  his  clothes,  or  of  being  led  astray  by 
naughty  boys ;  he  must  stay  in  the  house,  learn  to  sit  up 
straight,  shut  the  door  when  he  came  in,  and  be  careful  not  to 
break  the  windows,  or  injure  the  furniture. 

And,  as  it  would  never  do  for  him  to  grow  up  in  ignorance, 
when  all  around  him  were  so  wise,  of  course  he  must  be  sent 
to  school.  At  school  he  found  that  he  knew  far  less  than  oth 
ers  much  younger  than  himself;  he  was  mortified  by  his  inferi 
ority,  and  his  schoolmates,  with  the  magnanimity  peculiar  to 
boys,  never  lost  an  opportunity  of  reminding  him  of  it. 

He  came  home  one  day  in  a  passion  of  tears,  his  clothes 
covered  with  blood  and  dust,  declaring  that  he  would  never  go 
to  school  again  as  long  as  he  lived.  The  boys  had  called  him 
a  young  savage;  had  asked  him  how  long  he  had  been  caught, 
and  who  had  taught  him  how  to  speak. 

He  had  borne  it  all,  till  at  last  one  of  them  had  insulted 
his  mother ;  he  had  struck  him,  and  had  been  unmercifully 
beaten. 

Alice  looked  at  me  on  hearing  this  ;  and  the  implied  though 
unintended  reproach  went  to  my  heart. 

But  not  one  of  us  all  felt  the  change  so  painfully  as  Ham 
let.  At  home  he  had  been  one  of  the  family,  and  had  mixed 
with  us  on  terms  of  perfect  equality.  Indeed,  if  there  was 
any  difference,  he  was  treated  with  greater  consideration  than 
any  one  else.  But  now  it  was  inconvenient  having  him  in  the 


388  THE   NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

parlor,  for  various  reasons ;  the  servants  would  not  have  him 
in  the  kitchen,  even  if  he  would  have  condescended  to  their 
society ;  and  so  the  poor  fellow  was  driven  to  the  stable. 

He  could  not  accompany  us  when  we  walked  in  the  streets ; 
for,  if  he  did,  his  strange  appearance  was  sure  to  attract  such 
a  crowd  that  it  was  impossible  to  proceed  with  any  comfort ; 
to  say  nothing  of  the  danger  of  his  frightening  horses  and 
other  silly  people. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
he  grew  melancholy  and  morose.  He  probably  could  not 
understand  our  treatment  of  him,  and  could  hardly  help  regard 
ing  it  as  a  proof  of  the  basest  ingratitude. 

And,  indeed,  I  never  felt  myself  entirely  easy  on  that  score, 
and  the  only  way  in  which  I  could  quiet  my  conscience  was 
by  having  a  room  fitted  up  in  the  stable  expressly  for  his 
accommodation,  and  carefully  provided  with  every  convenience 
he  would  be  likely  to  appreciate.  But,  after  I  had  done  all  I 
could,  how  different  were  those  narrow,  dingy  walls,  from 
the  grand  old  woods  of  our  island  ! 

Here  Alice  and  I  used  to  visit  him  every  day ;  and,  as  for 
Jasper,  he  was  never  so  happy  as  in  his  society.  Hamlet 
loved  him  better  than  any  one  else  in  the  world.  But  stran 
gers  were  his  especial  aversion.  Hundreds  used  to  come  to 
my  house  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  gratify  their  curiosity 
by  a  sight  of  this  wonderful  animal,  till  at  last  his  patience  as 
well  as  my  own  was  completely  exhausted,  and  I  had  to  tell 
them  positively  that  it  was  unsafe  to  go  near  him. 

I  received,  at  this  time,  several  very  liberal  offers  from 
different  persons,  who  were  desirous  of  obtaining  him  for  a 
show.  A  man  named  Barnum  surprised  me  by  the  greatness 
of  the  sum  he  declared  himself  ready  to  give ;  but  if  he  had 


JASPER'S  SICKNESS.  389 

offered  me  millions  I  should  never  have  listened  to  him  for  a 
moment.  I  would  just  as  soon  have  sold  my  own  brother. 

Allie  and  the  baby  were  the  only  ones  who  seemed  as  happy 
here  as  on  the  island. 

Thus  six  months  passed  away,  and  time,  that  cures  all 
things,  seemed  gradually  reconciling  me  to  my  situation.  I 
was  proud  of  my  wife  and  children ;  I  was  pleased  to  see  the 
homage  rendered  to  her  beauty  and  accomplishments,  and  I 
was  happy  in  her  love.  Nothing  seriously  disturbed  me  but 
her  continual  dejection.  True  she  made  every  effort  to  con 
ceal  it,  and  with  one  less  sharp-sighted  she  would  undoubtedly 
have  succeeded  ;  but  I  saw  all  the  time,  even  when  she  seemed 
most  cheerful,  that  sorrow  kept  the  doors  of  her  heart. 

And  it  was  not  simply  the  cause  I  have  mentioned  that  dis 
turbed  her  peace.  She  had  been  for  some  time  oppressed  with 
a  growing  presentiment  of  evil.  She  did  not  tell  me  this  for 
a  long  time ;  but  one  day,  when  I  happened  to  surprise  her 
weeping,  she  confessed  that,  ever  since  our  leaving  the'island, 
she  had  had  a  feeling  which  she  could  not  account  for,  that 
some  great  misfortune  was  about  to  befall  us. 

I  was  struck  by  her  manner  still  more  than  by  her  words, 
and,  turning  gloomily  away,  I  looked  out  of  the  window  at 
the  lonely  gas-lights  struggling  feebly  with  the  rising  storm. 

A  few  days  after  this  conversation,  on  coming  home  to  din 
ner,  Alice  informed  me,  with  an  air  of  considerable  anxiety, 
that  Jasper  had  complained  of  feeling  unwell  all  the  morning, 
and  asked  if  I  did  not  think  we  had  better  send  for  the  doc 
tor.  I  thought,  as  fathers  always  will,  that  the  mother  was 
needlessly  alarmed,  but  1  made  no  objection  to  doing  as  she 
required. 

The  doctor  came,  and,  after  learning  the  boy's  symptoms, 
said,  carelessly,  that  he  had  a  slight  fever,  and  would  be  as 
33* 


390  THE    NEW   AGE    OF   GOLD. 

well  as  ever  in  a  day  or  two.  But,  instead  of  growing  better, 
he  rapidly  grew  worse  ;  and,  in  spite  of  the  doctor's  assumed 
cheerfulness,  I  saw  what  was  his  real  opinion,  and  made  up 
my  mind  that  my  boy  must  die. 

My  brave,  my  darling  boy  !     Strange  that  such  a  fiery  spirit 
should  so  soon  be  quenched  in  the  grave  ! 

The  fourth  day  I  sat  by  his  side.  The  room  was  darkened, 
for  he  could  not  bear  the  light ;  but  I  could  see  his  noble  fore 
head,  with  the  thick,  dark  curls,  and  his  pale  hands  clasped 
on  his  breast.  He  had  been  sleeping  for  several  hours,  but  at 
last  he  opened  his  eyes,  and,  seeing  me  sitting  there,  he  said, 
"  Father,  I  am  going  to  die.  The  doctor  says  I  shall  get 
well,  but  he  does  n't  know  as  well  as  I  do.  I  feel  it  right  here. 
T  felt  it  all  last  night.  But,  father,  you  mustn't  be  sorry  for 
me ;  for  I  am  going  where  I  shall  be  very  happy.  I  have  n't 
been  happy  here.  I  don't  like  this  home  as  well  as  the  other. 
But  mother  says  that  heaven  is  very  beautiful.  Do  you  think 
it  can  be  as  beautiful  as  our  island  ?  " 

"  Yes,  dear,"  I  murmured,  hardly  able  to  keep  back  my 
tears ;  "  I  hope  so,  and  a  great  deal  more  beautiful." 

"  0,  then,  what  a  pleasant  place  heaven  must  be  !  But  I 
don't  want  it  to  be  any  pleasantcr  than  that.  It  seems  to  me 
that  I  shouldn't  be  so  happy  if  it  were.  I  don't  see  how  it 
can  be.  But,  father,  can't  I  see  poor  old  Hamlet  once  more 
before  I  die?  I  have  n't  seen  him  since  I  've  been  sick,  and 
I  know  he'll  feel  ever  so  bad  if  I  don't  did  him  good-by. 
Nobody  loves  him,  you  know,  as  well  as  I  do." 

"  But  I  am  afraid  you  are  too  sick,  my  dear ;  you  are  too 

weak  to  be  carried  down  to  his  room ;  the  exertion  would  be 

too  much  for  you.  I  think  you  had  better  wait  till  to-morrow.' 

"  But  why  can't  he  come  up  here  ?      I  want  to  see  him  so 

much;  and  I  shan't  be  strong  enough  to-morrow.      Do  lei 


JASPER'S  LAST  INTERVIEW  WITH  HAMLET.  391 

him,  dear  father  !  I  only  want  to  see  him  one  minute,  just  to 
say  good-by.  Will  you,  father?  " 

"Yes,  dear,  I  will,"  I  answered;  "I  will  bring  him  up 
directly ;  but  you  must  be  careful,  and  not  talk  too  much ; 
the  doctor  isn't  willing  you  should  see  much  company." 

I  had  not  seen  Hamlet  for  several  days  ;  for,  since  Jasper's 
illness,  I  could  hardly  spare  a  thought  for  anything  else.  The 
poor  fellow  looked  strangely  unhappy.  He  took  little  notice 
of  me  when  I  entered ;  but,  on  my  calling  him  by  name,  he 
rose  and  followed  me  with  alacrity.  Even  now  I  seem  to 
hear  the  heavy,  muffled  tread  of  his  padded  feet  on  the  creak 
ing  stair.  I  led  him  into  the  sick-chamber,  and,  with  a  low 
caution  to  be  quiet,  I  brought  him  to  the  bedside  of  my  dying 
boy.  * 

"  Hamlet !  dear  Hamlet !  don't  you  know  me  ?  "  whispered 
Jasper.  "  Here  !  Ah,  yes  !  he  knows  me  !  I  knew  he 
would.  See  how  he  lays  his  head  on  the  bed  !  Good-by, 
dear  Hamlet !  I  never  shall  play  with  you  any  more  ;  but 
lather  and  mother  will  love  you,  and  little  Allie ;  and  you 
must  be  a  good  bear,  Hamlet ;  and  don't  forget  me,  now,  will 
you  ?  for  you  know  I  loved  you  better  than  anybody  else  in 
the  world." 

While  speaking,  his  little  fingers  were  playing  with  Ham 
let's  shaggy  coat,  and  the  eyes  of  both  were  fastened  on  each 
other  with  a  sad  and  earnest  meaning,  that  inexpressibly 
affected  my  heart.  Hamlet  seemed  fully  conscious  of  what 
was  approaching.  Always,  before  this,  when  Jasper  had 
visited  him,  he  had  been  perfectly  furious  in  his  demonstra 
tions  of  delight.  But  now  it  was  painful  to  witness  his  emo 
tion,  and,  still  more,  the  efforts  he  made  to  express  it. 

He  moaned  repeatedly,  and  in  such  a  way  that  no  one  could 
have  heard  him  without  being  moved  almost,  if  not  quite,  to 


392  THE   NEW    AGE   OF    GOLD. 

tears.  He  walked  round  the  bed,  from  one  side  to  the  other, 
sometimes  resting  his  head  upon  it,  and  sometimes  one  of  his 
paws  ;  and,  after  looking  at  Jasper  a  few  moments,  he  would 
come  to  me,  as  if  asking  why  I  did  not  try  to  help  him. 

At  length,  fearful  of  the  effect  of  this  behavior,  I  signed 
to  him  to  sit  down  quietly  by  the  bed ;  when  he  instantly  did 
as  he  was  told,  and,  after  that,  never  once  took  his  eyes  off 
his  young  master  till  the  painful  scene  was  over. 

Jasper's  mind  now  began  to  wander,  and  the  doctor,  who 
came  in  soon  after,  whispered  that  he  had  not  long  to  live. 
His  mother,  who  was  completely  exhausted  by  watching  and 
anxiety,  had  lain  down  in  hopes  of  obtaining  a  few  moments' 
sleep,  but  she  now  came  at  my  call,  bringing  with  her  the 
little  Allie. 

"  Father,"  murmured  Jasper,  "  don't,  don't  go  away  !  Why 
can't  you  take  us  back  to  our  island  ?  All  of  us,  —  mother, 
and  Alice,  and  Hamlet  ?  Yes  ?  Do  you  hear,  mother  ?  he  says 
yes ;  and  we  are  going  to  start  to-morrow.  You  won't  cry 
any  more  now,  will  you,  mother  ?  I  never  saw  you  cry  there, 
and  here  you  cry  almost  all  the  time." 

"  Hush  !  hush  !  dear  Jasper,"  whispered  his  mother  ;  "  you 
mustn't  talk  so.  I  —  I  am  very  happy;  or  should  be,  if  you 
got  well." 

"  0  yes,  I  shall  get  well  now,  right  off.  I  never  was  sick 
there.  I  was  well  all  the  time.  I  never  should  have  been 
sick  if  we  had  n't  come  away.  0,  dear  !  I  wish  we  had  n't. 
But,  father,  where  are  you  ?  I  don't  see  you.  I  don't  see 
anybody.  The  sun  does  n't  shine  so  bright  here  as  it  does  on 
our  island.  But  we  shall  be  there  in  a  minute  !  0,  mother, 
I  see  it  now  !  And  it  looks  just  as  it  used  to,  only  a  great 
deal  prettier.  Only  see  the  flowers !  But  why  don't  you 
come  with  me,  mother  ?  You  arc  coming  soon  ?  Ah  ! " 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

We  leave  Boston,  and  arrive  in  New  York.  —  We  lose  both  our  Children. 
—  We  hasten  Home. — Alice  is  taken  Sick. — Our  last  Interview. — 
Her  Death.  —  Its  ElFect  upon  me.  —  The  Wharf  at  Salem.  —  Retrospec 
tion. —  I  determine  to  go  back  to  my  Island. 

11  WHERE  shall  he  be  buried  ?  "  The  undertaker  asked  the 
question  in  a  business  manner,  veiled  with  a  decent  show  of 
sympathy.  "  In  Mount  Auburn  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Alice  would  like,  I  suppose,  to  have  him  there.  Let 
it  be  as  retired  as  possible,  and  among  trees;  that  is  all." 

I  could  not  remain  in  Boston  any  longer.  I  shut  up  my 
house,  and,  leaving  Hamlet  under  the  charge  of  a  man  whom 
I  employed  for  that  express  purpose,  I  set  out,  accompanied 
by  Alice  and  my  two  remaining  children,  to  travel  in  pursuit 
of  change  and  forget  fulness. 

Happiness  I  did  not  expect  to  find. 

We  stopped  a  day  in  New  York,  intending  to  go  up  the 
Hudson  the  next  morning ;  but,  during  the  night,  both  the 
children  were  seized  with  an  attack  of  the  cholera,  or  some 
analogous  disorder,  and  in  a  few  hours  breathed  their  last. 
#  #  #  #  # 

Again  I  found  myself  at  home. 

Alice  was  now  all  that  was  left  to  me.  Yet  I  remembered 
when  I  asked  no  more.  Why,  then,  could  I  not  still  be 


THE    NEW    AGE    OF    GOLD. 

happy?  Did  I  love  her  any  less?  Did  I  not  rather  love 
her  infinitely  more?  And  was  not  her  love  for  me  the  love 
of  an  angel  ? 

Why,  then,  ah  !  why  was  I  not  happy  ? 
But  where  was  Allie's  gentle  laugh,  and  the  baby's  inno- 
3ent  prattle,  and  Jasper's  boyish  glee  ?     All  gone  ! 

They  must  be  sleeping  in  the  next  room.  I  entered  softly 
and  turned  down  the  snow-white  sheets.  But  they  were  not 
there. 

I  heard  their  footsteps  coming  along  the  passage.  I  opened 
the  door,  almost  expecting  them  to  rush  into  my  arms. 

A  pair  of  little  shoes  lay  on  the  sofa,  but  where  were  the 
little  feet  that  used  to  wear  them  ? 

But  Alice  was  still  left  to  me.  I  clasped  her  in  my  arms. 
Her  tears  were  on  my  cheek. 

"  Why  do  you  cry,  dear  Alice  ?  God  is  good,  and  we  may 
yet  be  happy." 

:|Ah,  dearest  Robert!  "  she  murmured,  "it  is  not  for  my- 
self.  It  is  for  you.  I  —  I  am  —  going  to  die." 

At  these  dreadful  words  my  heart  stood  still.  I  started  up, 
and  put  my  hands  on  her  shoulders;  and,  pushing  her  gently 
away,  looked  long  and  earnestly  into  her  face. 

It  was  pale,  deathly  pale;  but  I  thought  it  was  from 
sorrow  and  fatigue. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  I  cried;  "don't  you  feel  well? 
Are  you  sick?  What  is  the  matter  ?  Why  don't  you  tell 
me  ?  " 

"  Ah  !  "  she  replied,  «  I  feel  so  strangely  !  I  have  not  been 
this  long  time  ;  but  to-day  I—  "  here  her  strength  sud- 
lenly  failed  her,  and  she  would  have  fallen  if  I  had  not 
caught  her  in  my  arms. 

I  bore  her  to  the  bed,  from  which  she  was  never  to  rise 


ALICE    TAKEN    SICK.  395 

The  doctors  came,  but  they  could  do  nothing.  I  sent  them 
away,  and,  locking  the  door,  threw  myself  on  my  knees  by  the 
side  of  the  bed,  and  clasped  her  cold  hand  in  mine. 

"  Alice  !  dear  Alice  !  "  I  cried,  "  can  you  forgive  me  ?  I 
shall  never  forgive  myself;  but  you —  " 

"What  shall  I  forgive  you  for?"  she  answered,  with  a 
smile  of  inexpressible  tenderness  and  affection ;  "  for  being  so 
good  and  kind  to  me  ?  —  for  doing  all  you  could  to  make  me 
happy?  —  for  making  me  love  you  so  dearly  ?  " 

"0,  Alice!  don't  talk  so  to   me!     I  would  rather  you^ 
would  reproach  me  a  thousand  times.     I  have  never  been 
good  to  you.     I  have  never  loved  you  a  hundredth  part  as 
much  as  you  deserved.     I  have  been  so  selfish  and  —  " 

"  Dear  Robert !  it  is  my  turn  now  to  say,  Don't  talk  so. 
I  don't  know  what  you  mean.  You  know  you  never  spoke 

an  unkind  word  to  me  in  your  life,  except  once, and  I  had 

forgotten  that  long  ago,  —  and  you  never  did  anything  but 
what  you  thought  was  right." 

I  could  bear  no  more.  I  rushed  out  of  the  room.  I  tore 
my  hair.  I  dashed  my  head  against  the  wall.  I  called  my 
self  by  every  ugly  name  I  could  invent. 

Was  it  all  pretence  and  affectation  on  her  part  ?  Or  did 
she  really  believe  what  she  said  ?  Was  her  faith  in  me  so 
strong  ?  Was  her  love  so  pure  ?  What  other  way  could  she 
have  chosen  to  make  my  selfishness  appear  more  hateful  ?  If 
she  would  only  have  reproached  me,  I  could  have  borne  it ; 
but  not  to  know  that  I  had  ever  offended  her ! 

Had  I  not  deprived  her  of  all  the  happiness  of  life  ?  Had 
I  not  robbed  her  of  her  children  ?  Was  not  I  her  murderer  ? 
Arid  yet  she  could  say  that  I  had  done  all  I  could  to  make 
her  happy  ! 

I  went  back  into  her  chamber ;  and  all  that  afternoon,  and 


THE    NEW   AGE   OF    GOLD. 


all  the  night,  and  all  the  next  day,  I  sat  by  her  side.  And 
when  she  talked  to  me  in  her  low,  sweet  voice,  and  told  me 
how  happy  she  had  been  with  me,  and  how  grateful  she  was 
to  God  for  having  spared  us  so  long  to  each  other,  all  I  could 
do  was  to  sit  and  listen  in  speechless  agony. 

There  was  no  gratitude  in  my  heart.  I  could  not  keep 
down  the  bitter  thought,  "What  right  has  God  to  take  her 
from  me  ?  Why  should  I  thank  him  for  this  brief  dream  of 
happiness,  if  I  must  awake  to  such  endless  misery  ?  Better 
never  to  have  been  happy,  than  to  lose  that  happiness  !  If  I 
had  not  been  raised  so  high,  I  could  not  have  fallen  so  low." 

But  be  still  my  heart !  God  is  good,  though  thou  knowest 
not  how.  You  are  yourself  to  blame.  You  were  not  worthy 
of  that  happiness.  If  you  had  been,  you  would  never  have 
cast  it  away.  And,  after  all,  you  have  hud  your  share.  It 
is  but  fair  that  you  should  suffer.  If  few  men  have  been  so 
wretched,  no  one  has  ever  been  so  happy. 

It  was  night  when  she  died.  I  was  glad  to  have  it  so,  for 
why  should  the  sun  mock  my  sorrow  ?  I  thought  it  would 
never  shine  again.  Yet  the  next  morning  it  shone  as  bright 
as  ever.  Other  men  had  wives  and  children,  other  men  were 
happy  ;  let  it  shine  on  them  !  But  let  it  not  shine  on  me  ! 

The  funeral  was  over,  and  I  returned  to  my  deserted  home. 
Now  I  was  indeed  alone. 

I  locked  the  door,  and  put  the  key  in  my  pocket.  I  drew 
the  heavy  curtains  over  the  windows. 

There  were  her  dresses,  hanging  in  the  wardrobe.  This 
plain,  but  neat,  for  morning  wear;  another,  of  richer  fabric, 
for  the  evening ;  and  others,  still,  for  different  occasions.  She 
would  never  wear  them  again.  I  took  them  all  down,  one  by 
one,. and  tried  to  remember  how  she  had  looked  the  last  time 
she  had  them  on.  I  opened  the  bureau.  I  took  out  each 


ALONE   AGAIN   ON   THE   SALEM    WHARF.  397 

little  article  of  daily  use.     What  a  modest  feminine  air  about 
them  all ! 

"  Ah  !  "  I  cried,  "  How  came  these  things  here  ?  I  never 
wear  them.  What  are  they  doing,  I  wonder,  in  my  drawers  ? 
Who  could  have  put  them  there  ?  I  have  n't  any  wife. 
I  never  had  any.  Yet,  if  any  one  saw  them,  he  would  be 
sure  to  think  that  I  was  married." 

Then  I  laughed  and  shouted  to  think  how  brave  and  merry 
I  was ;  but  the  sound  of  my  voice  frightened  me,  and  presently 
I  grew  still  again. 

The  winds  of  passion  blew  in  vain  over  the  Dead  Sea  of 
my  soul !  A  sea  of  pitch,  heavy,  sluggish,  stagnant,  that 
the  tempest's  wing  could  not  ruffle  ;  reflecting  not  the  light 
of  the  sun  —  no  darker  for  the  darkness  of  the  night ! 

Yet  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  remain  long  in  one  place. 
I  left  the  city,  and  hurried  to  Salem.  A  morbid  fancy  drew 
me  down  to  the  same  wharf  from  which  I  had  sailed  so  many 
years  before.  Since  then  it  had  hardly  altered.  I  thought  I 
even  recognized  the  same  pile  of  boards  where  I  had  sat  and 
brooded  over  my  childish  sorrows.  What  did  I  know  of 
sorrow  then  ? 

I  sat  down,  and  tried  to  recall  all  that  had  since  occurred. 
I  thought  over  all  that  we  had  passed  through  together,  from 
our  first  meeting  till  our  final  separation. 

The  Three  Sisters —  my  first  sight  of  Alice  — my  awkward 
attempts  towards  making  her  acquaintance  —  the  storm  —  the 
death  of  her  grandfather  —  our  long  and  perilous  voyage  in 
that  little  boat  —  our  landing  on  the  island  —  the  pleasant 
walks  —  the  fatiguing  journeys  —  the  dewy  mornings  —  the 
long,  lazy,  summer  days  —  the  refreshing  breeze  of  evening  — 
our  common  joys  and  sorrows,  and  our  mutual  loves  ! 

All  over  now ! 

34 


398  THE    NEW    AGE    OP    GOLD. 

I  stretched  out  my  hand,  as  if  I  would  draw  back  that 
pleasant  time. 

Sunk  into  the  ocean  of  eternity !  Lost  like  a  cloud  in 
heaven  ! 

Those  days  come  not  again.  No  —  no  —  they  never  can 
come  again  !  "  The  hundred  years  that  lie  before  us  are 
nearer  than  the  moment  that  has  just  past." 

But  is  there  no  way  to  bring  them  back  ?  Ah !  if  I  had 
only  staid  on  our  island  !  If  I  only  had !  It  might  have 
been.  It  might  have  been ! 

But  where  should  I  go  ?  Where  should  1  hide  my  head? 
In  what  part  of  the  world  should  I  spend  the  sad  remainder 
of  my  days  ? 

A  sudden  thought  occurred  to  me.  I  seized  upon  it  with 
avidity.  I  would  go  back  to  my  island.  There,  in  silence 
and  solitude,  I  would  mourn  over  my  wickedness  and  folly. 
What  better  place  to  expiate  my  offences  than  the  one  in 
which  they  were  committed  ? 

As  I  left  the  wharf  a  boy  met  me  crying  the  morning 
papers.  I  bought  one  from  force  of  habit,  and,  glancing  my 
eye  at  the  date,  found  that  it  was  the  fifth  of  December.  It 
was  the  same  day  of  the  year  on  which  I  had  reached  there 
before.  Then  I  recognized  the  hand  of  Providence,  and  bowed 
my  head  submissively  to  its  stroke. 


CHAPTER    XL. 

To-morrow  let  us  do  or  die  ! 
But  when  the  bolt  of  death  is  hurled, 

Ah  !  whither  then  with  thee  to  fly, 
Shall  Outaliasi  roam  the  world  ? 

Seek  we  thy  once-loved  home  ? 
The  hand  is  gone  that  cropt  its  flowers  ! 
Unheard  their  clock  repeats  its  hours  ! 
Cold  is  the  hearth  within  their  bowers  ! 

And  should  we  thither  roam, 
Its  echoes  and  its  empty  tread 
Would  sound  like  voices  from  the  dead  ! 
Then  seek  we  not  their  camp  —  for  there 
The  silence  dwells  of  my  despair  !  CAMPBELL. 


Conclusion. — Preparations  for  the  Voyage.  —  Dreams  and  Reveries. 

Farewell.  —  Brief  Notice  of  the  Author. 

MY  preparations  are  now  nearly  completed.  I  have  bought 
a  vessel,  engaged  a  crew,  and  to-morrow  I  shall  set  sail  in 
search  of  my  island  home.  I  shall  never  rest  until  I  find  it. 

I  shall  carry  with  me  all  that  remains  of  my  beloved  Alice, 
and  there  I  shall  deposit  it  in  the  grave.  Every  day  I  shall 
strew  fresh  flowers  upon  it,  and  every  day  water  it  with  my 
tears.  I  shall  dig  my  own  grave  by  the  side  of  hers ;  and 
there,  when  I  feel  death  approaching,  I  shall  lay  myself  down 
by  her  side. 


400  TUB   NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD. 

I  shall  carry  nothing  with  me,  for  I  will  not  allow  myself 
any  comfort  which  we  did  not  enjoy  together,  except  one, 
the  Bible.  I  must  have  that  to  learn  how  to  die.  I  must 
have  that  to  teach  me  how  to  tread  the  same  path  by  which 
she  has  gone  before. 

The  gold  that  has  cost  me  so  dear  I  have  already  divided 
among  the  most  needy  of  my  relations.  I  hope  it  will  not 
prove  as  great  a  curse  to  them  as  it  has  proved  to  me. 

O,  that  I  had  wings  like  a  dove,  that  I  might  fly  at  once 
to  that  far-off  shore  !  The  heart  of  my  island  beats  for  my 
return.  Its  breezes  fan  me  —  its  odors  are  wafted  to  me  — 
its  thousand  voices  seem  to  reproach  me  with  my  delay. 

Unimagined  music,  wild  and  sad,  comes  seeking  me  out 
through  the  wide  world. 

I  come,  I  come  ;  have  patience  with  me ;  it  will  not  be  for 
long. 

In  a  few  months  my  eyes  will  behold  those  wild  and  rocky 
coasts.  How  different  everything  will  seem  then  from  what 
it  was  before  !  How  inexpressibly  lonely  and  deserted  ! 

But  I  love  to  dwell  on  those  sad  images.  Nothing  else  so 
excites  yet  soothes  my  morbid  fancy.  I  sit  here  hour  after 
hour,  picturing  in  my  imagination  all  the  incidents  of  the 
closing  scene.  I  see  the  island  rise  out  of  the  sea.  I  recog 
nize  its  familiar  shores.  I  enter  the  boat  with  Hamlet,  and 
sign  to  the  vessel  to  leave  us.  She  spreads  her  white  wings, 
and  returns  to  the  world.  We  row  softly  to  the  island.  We 
enter  the  secret  passage ;  glide  across  the  narrow  lake ;  as 
cend  the  winding  path,  and  stand  before  the  cottage  door. 

Alice  is  not  there,  nor  Jasper,  nor  Allie.  The  fire  is  gone 
out,  the  ashes  are  cold  upon  the  hearth.  Everything  is  just 
as  we  left  it,  but  yet  how  different ! 

I  build  a  fire  with  a  few  matches,  and  sit  down  in  my  accus- 


DREAMS  AND  REVERIES. FAREWELL.        401 

tomed  seat.  I  place  her  chair  opposite  ;  Jasper's  and  Allie's 
in  the  middle.  I  remember  the  last  time  she  sat  there.  I 
sink  my  head  on  my  breast,  then  suddenly  raise  my  eyes,  half- 
expecting  to  see  her  as  before. 

I  see  each  little  familiar  object  —  the  gourds  —  the  rude 
earthen  vessels  —  the  low  stone  table.  I  could  kiss  them, 
every  one,  because  her  hand  has  touched  them. 

Ah,  happy  isle !  after  so  long  desertion,  to  have  been  ani 
mated,  even  for  so  short  a  time,  by  so  fair  a  soul !  Her  old 
favorites  come  nocking  around  me.  "  Where  is  she  ?  What 
have  you  done  with  her  ?  "  I  cannot  answer.  I  dare  not  dash 
their  joy. 

We  will  go  seeking  her  through  the  wood ;  by  the  lake ; 
along  the  river ;  up  the  mountain.  The  trees  that  have  looked 
on  my  joy,  shall  now  witness  my  sorrow.  Ah,  poor  Hamlet ! 
what  a  change  has  come  over  your  old  master !  So  I  spend 
the  day. 

And  then  when  the  day  is  gone,  and  the  night  comes  on,  and 
the  fire  burns  low,  and  the  bear's  shadow  grows  bigger  and 
darker,  I  shall  think  I  hear  her  voice  singing  those  same  old 
airs  ;  and  I  shall  weep,  perhaps,  but  those  tears  will  be  sweet 
as  well  as  bitter. 

And  then  I  shall  go  to  my  lonely  bed,  and  sleep,  and 
dream  ;  and  in  my  dreams  I  shall  stretch  out  my  hand,  and, 
not  finding  her  by  my  side,  I  shall  start  and  wake,  and 
wonder  where  she  has  gone ;  till  I  remember  it  all,  and  my 
agony  comes  in  on  me  again  like  a  flood. 

But,  out  of  the  depths  of  my  bitter  anguish  and  unavailing 

remorse,  I  will  cry  unto  God  to  hear  me,  and  he  will  hear 

me ;  and  I  shall  dream  again  to  meet  once  more  my  beloved 

Alice,  and  to  hear  her  say,  "  Yet  endure  a  little  longer,  —  a 

34* 


THE   NEW   AGE   OF   GOLD. 

few  days  only,  an  hour,  a  minute,  — and  we  shall  be  united 
to  part  no  more  forever." 

And  now  I  must  bid  my  reader  and  all  the  world  a  final 
farewell.  I  began  these  brief  memoirs  to  aid  my  treacherous 
memory  ;  I  have  thus  imperfectly  completed  them  to  soothe 
my  sorrow.  Whilst  I  write  I  partly  forget  my  pain. 
Whether  they  will  ever  be  seen  by  other  eyes  than  mine  I 
know  not.  Nor  do  I  greatly  care.  The  last  tie  that  binds 
me  to  the  world  will  soon  be  broken,  and  neither  its  love  nor 
hatred  can  then  affect  me  further.  Yet,  even  in  that  solitude, 
t  may  help  me  to  bear  my  load  of  sorrow  more  bravely,  to 
think  that  I  have  secured  the  sympathy  of  a  single  human 
heart,  or  called  a  tear  of  pity  into  a  single  eye. 


NOTE  BY  THE  PUBLISHERS.- A  few  clays  after  writing  the  closing  passages 
of  the  above  mournful  history,  Mr.  Komaine  set  sail  from  New  York  with 
the  fixed  intention  of  never  abandoning  the  search  until  he  had  once' more 

iscovered  his  island  home.  Though  not  laid  down  on  any  of  the  maps,  he 
found  that  it  was  not  wholly  unknown  to  mariners  ;  and  Captain  James  C 
Brace,  of  the  ship  Vulcan,  who  had  attempted  to  land  there  in  1848,  was 
able,  from  observations  taken  at  the  time,  to  give  him  such  information 
that  he  would  have  little  difficulty  in  determining  its  true  position.  It 
belongs  to  that  group  of  islands  of  which  Borneo  is  the  chief,  and  lies 
about  three  or  four  degrees  to  the  south  of  the  equator.  As  the  voyage 
thither,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  would  not  occupy  more  than  four 
months,  and  as  he  has  already  been  gone  nearly  twice  that  time,  we  are 
in  daily  expectation  of  hearing  of  his  safe  arrival.  Whenever  we  do,  we 
shall  hasten  to  communicate  the  facts  to  the  public,  through  the  medium 
of  the  newspapers,  trusting  that  there  are  none  that  will  not  bo  inter- 
ested  to  learn  the  end  of  so  extraordinary  a  story. 

The  character  of  Mr.  Romaine  is  sufficiently  unfolded  in  the  history  he 
has  himself  given  us  ;  but,  to  gratify  those  of  our  readers  who  cannot  be 
satisfied  without  knowing  how  an  author  looks  as  well  as  writes,  we  sub- 
join  the  following  brief  sketch,  which  a  friend  has  kindly  furnished  us  for 
this  purpose. 


NOTE   BY    THE   PUBLISHERS.  403 

In  person  Mr.  Romaine  was  above  the  middle  height,  and  possessed 
of  an  uncommon  degree  of  strength  and  activity.  His  eyes  were  large 
and  dark,  his  forehead  moderately  high  and  very  full,  and  his  whole 
expression  eminently  pleasing.  A  slight  shade  of  melancholy  did  not 
diminish  the  interest  his  appearance  was  calculated  to  produce.  His 
temperament  was  a  mixture  of  the  sanguine,  the  bilious,  and  the  melan 
cholic  ;  and,  according  as  either  predominated,  he  seemed  to  present  an 
entirely  different  character. 

******* 

Mrs.  Alice  Wadsworth  Roraaine  was,  beyond  all  dispute,  the  most 
exquisite  picture  of  female  loveliness  the  eye  ever  rested  on.  Only  a 
poet  could  do  her  justice  ;  the  most  perfect  painting  would  not  give  half 
her  charms.  Her  variety  was  endless,  and  enough  to  fill  a  whole  gallery. 
But  the  secret  of  her  beauty —  this  it  was  that  no  one  could  catch  —  was 
her  wonderful  richness  of  expression.  A  soft  oriental  languor  seemed 
to  breathe  from  her  like  a  cloud,  until  she  was  fairly  aroused  ;  then  she 
became  absolutely  heroic.  Some,  indeed,  accused  her  of  a  certain  coldness 
and  hauteur  in  her  ordinary  manners  ;  she  might  be  so  to  them,  but,  "  I 
love  that  tropic  land  that  under  its  luxurious  exterior  still  keeps  its  heart 
of  fire  unconsurned."  ****** 


PHILLIPS,  SAMPSON,  &  CO.'S  PUBLICATIONS, 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


SUNNY  MEMORIES  OF  FOREIGN  LANDS, 

By  Mrs.  Harriet  Bcechcr  Stowe,  author  of  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cab 
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citizen  of  the  new  world  before.  The  common  people  — the  whole  people  — 
tarncd  out  to  greet  the  woman  whose  genius  had  conquered  all  hearts.  And 
hereditary  nobles,  authors,  statesmen,  and  artists,  catching  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
hour,  vied  with  each  other  in  doing  her  honor. 

A  tour  like  this  no  woman,  no  untitled  person,  no  mere  author,  ever  made. 
Whatever  of  interest  Great  Britain,  with  its  ten  centuries  of  growth,  had  to  show, 
was  displayed  to  the  author  of  "  Uncle  Tom."'  Hence  these  "  SUNNY  MEMO 
RIES  "  exhibit  pictures  of  English  Life  and  Scenery  which  can  be  found  in  no 
other  book  of  travels. 

THE  MAYFLOWER, 

And  Miscellaneous  Writings,  by  Mrs.  H.  Beecher  Stowe.  In 
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full  calf,  $4. 

"Mrs.  Stowe  is  not  less  successful  in  her  delineations  of  New  England  Life  than 
in  her  world-renowned  pictures  of  Kouthern  society.  "  Old  Father  Morris,"  "  Love 
versus  Law,  and  "  Uncle  Lot,"  bring  the  old-fashioned  scenes  of  by-gone  davs 
before  us  with  a  power  that  takes  captive  all  our  sympathies.  We  have  known 
bt. TII.  strong  men  to  shed  tears  over  the  irresistible  heart-touches  of  the  last- 
named  Iketch.  Few  of  these  were  written  merely  to  amuse  or  to  entertain  A 
warm,  lively  current  of  appeal  to  the  higher  part  of  man's  nature  runs  throu 
even  the  most  sprightly  stories."  —  National  Era. 


IDA  MAY,  A  STORY  OF  THINGS  ACTUAL  AND  POSSIBLE, 

By  Mary  Langdon. 

u  For  we  speak  that  we  do  know,  and  testify  of  that  we  have  seen." 


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This  powerful  auti-slavery  work  has  had  a  very  large  circle  of  admirers.  It  is 
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fair,  unprejudiced  mind.  But  it  is  as  a  story  that  it  must  be  judged. 

No  person  can  read  it  without  being  struck  with  the  wonderful  vividness  of  the 
author's  descriptions  of  character' and  manners.  The  dialogue  is  spirited,  dra 
matic,  and  where  negroes  are  introduced,  their  dialect  is  imitated  with  a  fidelity 
that  no  person  yet  has  approached. 


TALES  FOR  THE  MARINES, 

By  Harry  Gringo,  (Lieut.  H.  A.  Wise,  U.  S.  N.)    Author  of 
<  Los  Gringos,"  &c.     In  one  volume,  12mo.     Price,  $1.25. 
Of  this  brilliant  Nautical  Novel,  N    P.  WILLIS  thus  speaks  in  the  Home 
Journal  :  — 

"We  deliberately  believe  that  the  living  writer  who  can  give  the  most  pleasure 
in  the  way  of  fun  and  novelty,  is  Harry  Grivgo.  We  thiHk  him  an  un  worked 
mine  of  a  new  and  peculiar  intellectual  ore,  —  a  keen  knowledge  of  men  and 


Man. 

SKETCHES  OF  EUROPEAN  CAPITALS, 

By  llev.  William  Ware.  Author  of  «  Zenobia,"  «  Aurelian," 
"Julian,"  "Lectures  on  the  Genius  of  Allston,"  &c.  In  one 
volume,  12mo.  Price,  $1. 

"Mr.  Ware's  'European  Capitals'  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  of  recent  books 
of  foreign  travel.  Written  with  all  that  polished  ease  and  grace  which  he  has 
acquired  by  many  years'  experience,  it  presents,  in  a  series  of  lectures,  the  impres 
sions  most  likely  to  be  produced  upon  a  highly-cultivated  mind  by  a  visit  to  the 
great  centres  of  European  art  and  civilization.  Rome,  Florence,  Naples  and 
London,  are  the  four  cities  which  he  has  selected  as  the  principal  themes  for  his 
lectures  ;  and  he  has  treated  them  with  so  much  eloquence,  and  sucli  just  taste 
in  the  selection  and  arrangement  of  his  materials,  that  one  almost  forgets  the 
topics  are  old  and  familiar.  The  volume  is  an  elegant  tribute  of  ripe  scholarship 
to  one  of  the  most  popular  departments  of  polite  literature." 


MARGARET; 

A  Tale  of  the  Real  and  the  Ideal,  Blight  and  Bloom ;  including 
Sketches  of  a  Place  not  before  described,  called  Mons  Christi. 
By  Rev.  Sylvester  Judd.  Revised  edition.  Two  volumes, 
12mo.  Price,  $2. 


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>~*~»~~>^>^S/W/N^\/V/^» 

THE  NEW  AGE  OF  GOLD  ; 

Or,  the  Life  and  Adventures  of  Robert  Dexter  Romaine.   "Writ 
ten  by  himself.     In  one  volume,  12mo.     Price  $1.25. 

No  description  would  give  an  idea  of  this  work  without  spoiling  the  interest  of 
the  story.  But  it  possesses  extraordinary  merit,  both  in  the  plot,  which  is  novel, 
and  in  the  style,  which  is  singularly  animated. 

ENGLISH  TRAITS, 

By  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson.     In  one  volume,  12mo.     Price  $1. 

The  many  admirers  of  Mr.  Emerson  will  welcome  this  long-expected  volume. 
The  work  has  not  grown  to  a  large  size  by  the  length  of  time  it  has  been  in 
preparation;  revision  has  rather  winnowed  it.  The  publishers  confidently  expect 
that  this  will  be  the  most  widely  popular  of  tho  author's  books. 

THE  EARNEST  MAN, 

A  Sketch  of  the  Character  and  Labors  of  ADONIRAM  JTTD- 
SON,  First  Missionary  to  Bujmah.  By  Mrs.  H.  C.  Conant 
In  one  volume,  16mo.  Price  $1. 

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been  prepared  with  the  approval  of  the  family  and  friends  of  tho  lamented  sub- 
ject. 

CASTE  :    A  STORY  OF  REPUBLICAN  EQUALITY, 

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The  title  would  lead  the  reader  to  infer  that  it  has  somewhat  to  do  with  the 
question  of  Slavery;  and  such  is  the  case  — its  tendencies  are  powerfnlly  a-ainst 
tho  institution.  But  it  is,  nevertheless,  in  the  best  sense,  a  Novel,  and  not  "mere 
ly  an  Anti-Slavery  tract  in  disguise.  The  characters  and  scenes  have  a  vividness 
which  only  genius  can  impart  to  ideal  creations ;  and  whoever  commences  the 
book  will  find  his  sympathies  BO  strongly  enlisted,  that  he  will  be  compelled  to 
follow  the  fortunes  of  the  charming  heroine  to  the  conclusion. 

CASTE  is  not  a  "sectional"  book.  Its  blows  fall  as  much  upon  Northern  as 
upon  Southern  society.  And  while  the  vast  majority  will  read  the  book  for  the 
intent  interest  of  the  gtary,  it  will  awaken  thinking  men  to  a  new  phase  Df  the 
all-absorbing  question. 


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MODERN  PILGRIMS  : 

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Price  $1.75. 

The  idea  of  this  work  was  suggested  to  the  author  by  the  inimitable  "  Celestial 
Railroad  "  of  Hawthorne.  But  in  the  application  of  the  idea  to  the  religious  so 
cieties  of  modern  times,  the  author  is  indebted  to  no  one.  It  is  a  continuous  story 
of  the  pilgrimage  of  some  cultivated  and  piously  disposed  people,  in  which  they 
visit  in  turn  various  cities,  castles,  and  hotels,  representing  the  leading  religious 
denominations.  But  no  description  can  do  the  work  justice.  It  is  full  of  trench 
ant  satire  upon  life,  manners,  and  opinions ;  and  at  the  same  time  it  has  much  of 
pathos,  which  cannot  but  awaken  sympathy. 

It  is  proper  to  add,  that  the  author  takes  the  same  standpoint  with  honest  John 
Bunyan. 

WOLFSDEN.    A  New  England  Novel, 

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Rural  life  in  New  England  was  never  more  graphically  painted.  And  such  is 
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a  hearty  relish.  It  is  as  unique  as  Tristram  Shandy. 

COLOMBA  ;  A  Novel  founded  upon  the  "  Vendetta." 

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gant  16mo.  volume.  Price  $1. 

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EDITII  HALE,    A  New  England  Story, 

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